It Came from Lucina's Head
by Smash King24
Summary: After staying up late one night to watch a scary movie, Lucina finds herself having recurring nightmares about a deranged maniac trying to murder her in her sleep. Every morning she's waking up with cuts on her body, but her friends fear that she might be doing it to herself. Contains a blend of horror, humor, mystery, romance, and slice-of-lifeness. RobinxLucina FalconxLucina
1. Movie Night

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've been wanting to write a new story about Lucina ever since her announcement in Smash 4. Unfortunately for her, it had to be another Horror story.

* * *

Chapter 1: Move Night

* * *

"Alright boys and girls! It's time to sit down and shut up 'cause tonight is Captain Falcon movie night!"

The F-Zero racer posed heroically in front of the flat screen TV with a colorful DVD in his hand. His audience, consisting of Ike, Lucina, and Pikachu, just stared at him unenthusiastically.

"Are you going to dramatically announce it like this every time you get to pick the movie?" asked Lucina seriously.

Falcon was taken aback by her honest question, his mouth falling slightly agape in surprise.

"Hey! Don't think that just because you're a newcomer it means you can go ordering me around like that!" he said.

"Oh sorry," she replied, a bit of embarrassment on her face. "I didn't mean to offend you in any way."

Ike rolled his eyes. It looked like it was going to be some time before newcomer Lucina got used to Captain Falcon and his usual antics.

"Chu…" muttered Pikachu, a piece of ketchup-soaked popcorn wedged in his mouth.

The four Smashers had been planning a weekly movie night every Friday of the week since the new tournament started up. Well, it was actually Captain Falcon's idea. He wanted to show Lucina how they spent their free time around the mansion. Most Smashers, they just go out on the town, or practice in the training rooms. What kind of fun was that? If Master Hand was going to make them kill each other for six hours straight during the day, they might as well take the free time to relax.

A few weeks ago, Falcon had initially invited Lucina to join him for a movie. It wasn't just any movie either, since he gave her a choice of specific movies from the Romance genre. Ike, overhearing the discussion, felt it would be in Lucina's best interest if he tagged along in case Falcon were to try anything "funny." Now, Falcon wasn't that type of guy at all, but most Smashers around the mansion knew very well to never underestimate the uncanny F-Zero racer. He was one of those Smashers who a lot of people perceived to be unpredictable. Lucina, on the other hand, was kind, gentle, polite, and somewhat easily startled. With a pretty face to seal the deal, it came as no surprise to the veteran Smashers that she would be Falcon's first target to prey on.

You'd think he would have learned his lesson after the incident with Samus during last year's Valentine's Day.

"Falcon, stop," said Ike as Falcon flexed his abs at the group on the couch. "You're scaring the poor girl."

"Oh, I'm quite alright, but thank you anyway Ike," replied Lucina cheerfully. "It's nice to just sit down with a group of friends and spend time together after a hard day's brawl."

"See, she's fine!" said Falcon enthusiastically. "Trust me on this, guys. When Captain Falcon hosts a party, everyone has a good time!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" replied Pikachu seriously.

"Okay, well there was that ONE time when I accidentally set the mansion on fire," muttered Falcon. "But that was a problem with the lighting, completely out of my control!"

"Pika…"

"Hey hey! I don't want to hear another peep from you mister! You weren't even invited to this thing!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ike. "You're the one who asked if he could come along in the first place."

Indeed, the only reason why Pikachu was here in the living room with them was because Falcon had noticed him strolling by some few minutes ago. With his happy-go-lucky attitude and Pikachu's cuteness, why would he _not_ invite the little electric mouse in the join them on the festivities?

"Whatever," spat Falcon. "The point is, tonight's the third night, which mean it's MY turn to pick the movie!"

"Pika, Pikachu?" asked Pikachu.

"The first week, I picked 'Dragon Heart'," replied Lucina, in response to Pikachu's question. "And last week, Ike picked a Jackie Chan movie… that I can't remember the title of."

"It was 'A Snake in the Eagle's Shadow'," replied Ike from the other side of the couch. "A kung-fu classic. And by the way, Lucina, Pikachu didn't ask you that."

"Chuuuu…" said Pikachu disappointedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," replied Lucina. "I'm still getting used to how the Pokémon talk around here."

"It's okay, it takes some getting used to," said Ike with a smile.

"Hello! Are you guys gonna sit there and gawk all night or are we gonna watch this movie!?" asked Falcon, a bit of irritation in his voice.

Ike glanced at him with an unimpressed gaze.

"Falcon, you're the one standing there with the movie," he said. "Just put it on already!"

"Wait…" replied Falcon. "You guys…don't want to hear what movie I picked?"

He made a sad puppy-dog face as he lifted the disc casing in front of his mouth.

"Go ahead Captain Falcon," said Lucina warmly. "We're all listening."

"I envy how you can maintain such an attitude with this guy," muttered Ike from the side.

Pikachu continued to munch on his large bucket of popcorn contentedly.

"Alright folks!" began Falcon with his dramatic pizzazz. "I stand before you tonight with one of the greatest and most terrifying Horror movies that this world has ever seen! It will make your spine shudder, your teeth chatter, and your eyeballs will fall from their eye sockets in disgust at the scenes contained within the bindings of this DVD!"

"Oh my…" said Lucina in shock, partly interested and bewildered by Falcon's description.

"Will you spit it out already?" asked Ike in annoyance.

"Ladies and gentlemen," continued Falcon. "I present to you, the one, the only, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street!'"

Falcon proudly held the disc above his head, striking another comical pose in the process. The version of the movie seemed to be the 1984 classic starring Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp.

Lucina continued to stare in wonderment, while Ike and Pikachu remained unimpressed.

"Really, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street?'" asked Ike. "I thought the only Horror movies we owned were the 'Resident Evil' ones."

"Pfft! 'Resident Evil?' Come on Ike, no one likes that series," retorted Falcon.

"Pikachu…" muttered Pikachu as he grabbed another popcorn, dipped it in his bowl of ketchup, and popped it into his mouth.

"I've never seen 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' before," said Lucina casually. "Is it scary?"

Falcon was, again, taken aback by her seemingly simple question.

"Is it scary?" he repeated. "Is it scary!? Girl, this movie is one of the scariest movies of all time! I guarantee you by the time we're done with this movie, you'll be too scared to sleep without the lights turned on. Is it scary…Sheesh, you kids I tell ya…"

"I've never seen a Horror movie before," said Lucina enthusiastically. "This should be exciting."

"Depends on your definition of 'exciting' I suppose," mumbled Ike.

"Have you seen this one, Ike?"

"No, but it won't matter anyway; there is no movie that can scare me. It's all make-believe after all."

"Pi-Pikachu!" chimed Pikachu in agreement.

"Alrighty then!" replied Falcon. "Let's get this party started!"

Falcon promptly shoved the movie into Master Hand's super expensive Blu-ray disc player. He thereafter plopped his butt down on the couch between Ike and Lucina, crushing Pikachu in the process and spilling his snacks all over the floor. After receiving several thousand volts of electricity and running back to the kitchen to grab some more popcorn, he took his spot in the middle of the couch again with Pikachu lying in Lucina's arms, the ketchup and popcorn sitting on the nearby coffee table.

"These damn remotes never work when you need them…" muttered Falcon as he wedged his thumbs into the buttons of the device.

After bypassing the decade-old movie trailers and FBI content warning bullshit, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was finally playing on the TV. The last thing to be done was to turn off the lights, which Falcon hastily did before, yet again, reclaiming his spot on the couch.

Ike yawned to himself as Lucina stared on at the movie playing before them. Unbeknownst to her, she would soon find out that sitting down to watch this movie would be the worst decision she'd made in the entire week.

* * *

89 minutes later…

* * *

As the last of the credit score began to die down with the remaining text crawling up the screen, Lucina could only stare wide-eyed in horror at the monstrosity of a movie she had just witnessed. She shivered in distress, afraid to turn her head in any direction for fear that Freddy Krueger would be lurking in the nearby shadows. She squeezed Pikachu tightly against her body, causing the Pokémon to wake from its sleep.

"Pika…" complained Pikachu as he tried to push himself some more breathing room.

Lucina, however, refused to budge from the curled-up-ball position she was in. She glanced over at her friends to see Captain Falcon leaning back against the couch with his mouth wide open and snoring loudly. Ike was also asleep, his head leaning on his propped-up fist, though he was much more silent about the matter. It seemed that Lucina was the only one who actually watched the whole movie from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, she didn't realize how tightly she was hugging Pikachu and before she knew it, the electric mouse began to give off a series of sparks. She shrieked at the touch, giving Pikachu enough space to jump onto Falcon's lap and wake him up instantly, before scurrying out of the room.

"Huh what!? Who goes there!?" shouted Falcon in a daze.

He glanced around the room to see the TV screen displaying the DVD menu and a petrified Lucina staring at him. Ike began to stir awake as well from the sudden excitement.

"Ugh, what time is it?" he mumbled before pulling himself up.

Falcon continued to stare at Lucina dumbfounded, while she continued to stare back at him with a fearful look in her eyes. Falcon let out a huge yawn and a stretch before scratching his back.

"So, how was it?" asked Falcon nonchalantly. "What'd I tell ya, scary huh?"

Lucina just looked at him in horror, her hands cupped over her chest as scenes of knives cutting through her body played through her head. Never in her life had she seen anything so graphic—not even on the fields of battle. Mechanically, she got up from her spot and shuffled mindlessly out of the room and back to her dorm.

"Night, Lucina," called Ike as she left, but she made no effort to respond.

After a few moments, the blue-haired swordsman frowned at the F-Zero racer.

"What?" asked Falcon seriously.

Lucina wandered like a lost soul through the hallways of Smash Mansion, bypassing every room and door along the way. She found herself constantly glancing back and forth in the halls, trying to tell herself that the echoing noise or voices were nothing but her imagination. She could feel something following her, but she wasn't entirely sure if it was all in her head or some separate entity. Nevertheless, as soon as she made it to her room, she ran in and slammed the door shut.

She wasn't the same when the Smashers saw her at breakfast the next day.


	2. The First Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 2: The First Encounter

* * *

Lucina tossed and turned in her sleep restlessly. She tried her best to calm herself down, but for some reason, her pounding heart just didn't want to let up. All she could think about were those images of people getting cut open with razor-sharp knives. She was so frightened by the ordeal that she didn't even take the time to change into her pajamas. She just hopped into bed, hid herself as deep as she could beneath the covers, and prayed that whatever was lurking nearby in those halls didn't follow her into the sanctity of her dorm room.

There…_was_ something following her in those halls right?

"_This is ridiculous_," she thought to herself from under the sheets. "_There's nothing to be afraid of. It's like Ike was saying; movies are only make-believe. They can't be real…can they?_"

She peered out from under the covers into the darkness of her room. With the moonlight shining eerily in from the balcony window, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That jacket hanging on the chair wasn't a ghoul. Those trees swaying back and forth outside weren't banshees. And that pile of books on the desk definitely was no Freddy Krueger. Hesitantly, she glanced at the mirror across from her bed to see her own scared reflection staring back at her across the room.

"_Get a grip of yourself Lucina. It's all in your head._"

"It's all in my head," she said out loud, closing her eyes slowly and falling back onto her pillow.

She had to admit, talking to herself really did make her feel better about the situation. Well, it did until it started raining outside and a huge thunderclap boomed over the mansion. The poor girl squeaked at the sound and dove back under her safety net of linen.

The rain started coming down in the night. It wasn't a hard rain, but the storm clouds were rolling in, and soon Lucina was finding herself with other reasons why she couldn't sleep. Thankfully, the storm was at least keeping her mind off of you know what.

"_There are no such thing as monsters, there are no such thing as monsters, there are no such thing as monsters_," she kept thinking to herself.

She didn't know why she even bothered to sit and watch that stupid movie with Falcon and Ike in the first place. Had she known what it was going to be about, she would have just got up and left right then and there. The whole experience had left a sour taste in her mouth with Horror films. With any luck, they next movie they watch would be something a little more relaxing than that. Perhaps a comedy, or a documentary, or maybe they could just sit outside and watch grass grow for an hour.

All these thoughts bouncing around her mind were not helping her situation at all. If she was going to participate in brawls the next day, she needed her sleep. It was already after midnight, which was at least two hours past her regular curfew. If she fought like crap the next morning, Captain Falcon was going to get a piece of her mind. It's not like it was his fault however since she was the one who was so curious about these Horror movies in the first place. There's no way in hell she'd be doing that again…

As the clock struck 1AM, Lucina could finally feel herself winding down. After all the excitement and worrying, her body and mind were finally starting to call it quits. She debated whether or not she should have pulled her sword into bed with her, but in the end, she just kept repeating Ike's words of wisdom.

"_It's all make-believe. That's all it is._"

Despite the rain, she was finding it easier to fall asleep, using the raindrops against the window as some sort of tempo like a lullaby. It was strangely relaxing and reminded her of days when she and some of the other Smashers would stay indoors during rainy days and play board games that no one could ever finish in one sitting like Monopoly. There was no room to think about monsters in this setting though. Now it was just Lucina and the rain. Pit-pat. Pit-pat.

Well, it _was_ like this until an intrusive noise caught her attention.

The sound of the balcony door opening and closing caused her to open her eyes wide as she quickly sat up and glanced in direction of the source. The rain continued to fall against the window carelessly; however, she noticed the curtains along the door had been disturbed, swaying in the air as if some invisible force had nudged them. It was impossible for wind to enter unless the door was open, which led her to her most fearful conclusion of all.

Someone was in her room.

"Who goes there?" she asked, trying to maintain control of the cracking in her voice.

There was no reply, save for the dancing curtains as they slowly came to a stop. The room was too dark to see anything that wasn't near the balcony, which gave her the utmost sinking feeling in her stomach. Could it be that the sound she heard was nothing but her imagination?

She continued to scan the room, confirming if anything else had been disturbed. The jacket was still on the chair and those books were still on the desk, so whatever had slipped into the room had done so in quite the stealthiest of fashions. The eerie silence responding to her question was starting to give her chills.

"_My sword…_" she thought, looking near the entrance of the room to see her sword in the weapons rack against the wall.

She was about the step out of her sheets and retrieve her blade, but stopped herself to inspect the carpet below. She leaned over the edge and peered beneath her bed, which thankfully revealed nothing but air and dust-bunnies. She sighed with relief as she looked back up to her weapon, but nearly cried in shock when the sword was no longer there.

"_Falchion! Where did it?..._"

She could have sworn she saw it in the weapons rack a few seconds ago, but now it was completely empty. She distinctly remembered putting it there when she was done her training for the day, and she sure as hell remembered seeing it when she entered the room after the movie.

Something definitely wasn't right here.

She made an attempt to go inspect the rack, but was halted when she noticed that she could not move her feet at all. Somehow, her legs had become entangled in her own bed sheets. Not only that, but the sheets suddenly began coiling up her body, as if they were some sort of snake.

"_What is going on?_"

She frantically tried pulling her legs free, but they wouldn't budge from their bindings. No matter how much she pulled, tore, or resisted, the blankets would not stop coming. Eventually, they had wrapped all the way around her torso, arms, and neck, constricting her into what was probably the most uncomfortable position she'd ever been in in her life. She tried to call for help, but wasn't able to get out two words before the sheets tightened on her vocal chords, choking her into submission.

"_Who is doing this!?_" she kept asking herself. "_Why is this happening!?_"

For the first time since she joined the Smash Bros., Lucina felt completely helpless. The more she struggled to resist, the more those sheets would tighten against her body. She couldn't find her sword, couldn't call for her friends, couldn't do anything to stop whatever supernatural presence was at large here.

Her deepest fears had officially become reality.

"_I'm going to die. By the gods, I'm going to die._"

Tears began streaming down her face, as if the snake-like coils of the bed had squeezed them out of her. It wasn't long before she could feel her own ribcage snapping, her lungs collapsing, and her heartbeat thrashing with such force that it felt like it had been set aflame.

Just as she thought it was all over, a tall figure loomed over her bedside, staring down at her with piercing crimson eyes. The poor girl didn't know what to think as her sight was beginning to blur, her thoughts dispersing before she could even comprehend them. The figure was dark, standing almost as tall as the ceiling, or at least that's how it looked from Lucina's point of view. Large pointed ears could be seen jutting from the sides of its head, a sickly grin spread across its sinister face like some sort of jester. Small beady eyes gazed down at her without remorse. Its body was entirely black, but it emitted some sort of violet aura that made Lucina sick to her already compressed stomach. As she coughed and gasped for breath, the other being in the room continued to stand and watch, its large grin refusing to falter in the slightest.

"_Good evening, Lucina_," said the ominous and distorted voice of the figure. "_It's a pleasure to finally meet you_."

The sound of the creature's voice was like nails on a chalkboard, giving Lucina the impression that this being was of an entirely different realm altogether. She maintained that notion for about a second before letting out a sharp cry as more of her soul was squeezed from her body.

"_I've waited so long for this day_," continued the horrifying image before her. "_The day you would finally set me free_." The creature raised a large demonic hand, revealing a set of razor-sharp claws. "_The day…where I would finally be able to touch you_."

The creature gently skimmed a claw down Lucina's cheek, causing her to internally writhe in pain. The touch of the creature was very light; however, it burned like someone had taken a hot chunk of coal to her skin. Soon, beads of blood began oozing through the skin on her cheek, forming an open cut that bled all the way down her neck, staining the sheets.

At this point, she just wanted it to be over with. Her internal organs had been compressed beyond recognition or repair, and she was in so much pain that death seemed like her only chance at salvation. Just when she was about to let go, she looked up to see the creature reel back with its huge claws, the sickly grin continuing to mock her.

"_Fear is the consumer. Death is the deliverer_."

She slammed her eyes shut and screamed with all her might as the array of blades swiped through her face.

Lucina shot upright in her bed, unleashing a blood-curdling scream into the dark room. She paused, panting heavily and gasping for air. She placed her hand over her chest to feel her heart beating a million miles a minute.

"_Was it all a dream?_"

She looked down at the sheets before her to find them all in place, albeit drenched in sweat. Glancing at the weapons rack showed that her Falchion was back in its place. Her reflection in the mirror across the room stared back at her with a most distressed expression. The curtains near the balcony were as motionless as the dead.

It was still raining outside.

Lucina tried her best to catch her breath, but gave up halfway before falling back onto her pillow.

"_It was a dream_," she thought gratefully. "_Thank the gods._"

Even with that in mind, she still found it difficult to fall back asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about that creature that attacked her. That sinister grin, those creepy eyes, those monstrous claws that tore through her skin like paper. It made her wonder what on earth that stupid Horror movie had put into her head that night. Ike and Captain Falcon were definitely going to hear about this tomorrow.

As Lucina dozed off, the rain began to ease up to the point where the clouds had completely drifted away from the mansion. Soon, she had fallen into a deep sleep, burying the memories of that horrifying encounter into the far reaches of her mind. She didn't notice the trail of blood trickling down her face until the next day.


	3. Lucina Wears Red

It Came from Lucina's Head

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Chapter 3: Lucina Wears Red

* * *

It was around 7 in the morning when breakfast had been laid out for the Smashers in the dining room. Waddle Dees were scurrying about delivering platters, setting silverware, and picking up dirty dishes while the Smashers enjoyed their usual meals. Although some were not present, most of the fighters had gathered at the long table, eating contentedly and chatting with each other. Among these, Captain Falcon and Ike were sitting across from each other at the end near the east door, talking about the previous night's movie over some bacon and eggs.

"So, what'd ya think, Ike?" asked Falcon as he chomped on a slice of bacon.

Ike was hesitant to reply as the racer had accidentally spat some food on his face. He calmly wiped himself clean with a napkin.

"It had my attention for about five minutes before I got bored and fell asleep," he said casually, taking a bite out of his omelet.

The F-Zero racer seemed to have taken offense to this remark.

"Hey, that's not fair!" retorted Falcon. "I stayed up all night to watch _your_ movie! The least you could do is do the same for me!"

"It doesn't matter to me if you wanted to watch it," said Ike. "I chose that one because I like it."

Falcon tried to come up with the words to respond, but only ended up pouting like a little kid before nibbling on a piece of toast. As he was doing so, another Smasher who was passing by overheard the conversation.

"Hey, how was the movie last night?" asked Link with a smile, a plate full of food in his hands.

"Why don't you ask _Ike_?" said Falcon in annoyance.

"It was fine, Link," replied the blue-haired swordsman. "Though I'm not sure if Lucina enjoyed it very much."

Link raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"Which movie was it?" he asked.

"Some Horror one that I can't remember the name of."

"Oh for the love of-!" yelled Falcon as he raised his hands in the air, dropping a fork in the process. "It was 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'! Nightmare! On! Elm Street! Is it really that hard to remember!?"

All the chatter in the room suddenly ceased, an unusual silence befalling the immediate area. Falcon glanced down the table to see his friends staring at him awkwardly, including the nearby Waddle Dees.

"Falcon, it's 7 in the morning," growled Ganondorf from the other end of the table. "Can't I get one day without you shouting obscenities?"

"Sorry!" replied Falcon before sitting up straight and resuming his eating.

The other Smashers also went back to their food and the Waddle Dees resumed their duties. Somewhere close to middle of the table, Sonic was snickering at a pissed-off Ganondorf.

"I take it she found it a bit too intense?" asked Link, continuing the conversation where they left off.

"Pfft, you kidding?" replied Falcon. "She was fine! That girl's got more guts than you guys give her credit for."

"That movie can be unsettling for anyone who's never seen it before," muttered Ike from the side.

"Well it wasn't just us!" said Falcon. "Pikachu liked it too! Right Pikachu?"

The electric mouse sitting a few seats down glared at the F-Zero racer, its ears twitching slightly in irritation. Ike noticed some sparks jolting about on its red cheeks.

"See? Even Pikachu had a great time!" continued Falcon.

"If you say so," replied Link. "Anyway, I'm gonna go meet up with Pit and Luigi over there. I'll see you guys later."

"See ya," responded Ike before taking a swig of his orange juice.

Captain Falcon gave a silly salute, casting the Hylian off on his merry way to the middle of the table.

"Now that I think about it," said Falcon quietly. "Lucina hasn't shown up for breakfast yet."

Ike raised an eyebrow, wondering if that last statement was intended to make him suspicious of something.

"Did you see her last night?" asked the swordsman. "She looked like she saw a ghost; her face was a white as a sheet."

"I thought her face always looked like that?"

"No Falcon, that's not how it works. Maybe if you took your helmet off for once you'd be able to identify colors properly."

"Hey! Don't dis the helmet!" Falcon bopped himself in the head, the force of the gesture naturally absorbed by his trademark crash helmet.

"She's probably really tired this morning," said Ike. "Let her have her rest. She said she has a match scheduled for today, so let's just give her some space to prepare herself."

"Well fine," replied Falcon, shoving his last piece of egg into his mouth. "But so help me, if she comes cryin' to me that she didn't like the movie, I'm going to have to straighten her out." The racer flexed his biceps and gave a seductive smirk, which to Ike looked like a typical creepy smirk. "If you know what I mean."

Ike put down his utensils with a frown.

"Ugh… No I don't know what you mean," he replied flatly. "And I'm not sure if I want to find out."

"What _did_ you mean, Captain Falcon?"

Both Smashers jumped at the new voice that had entered the conversation. They glanced to the side to see Lucina standing next to them at the table's end, her usual blue attire now looking more red than usual. As a matter of fact, she was dressed entirely in her red armor, but she was also wearing a peculiar blue scarf around her neck that covered everything from her nose to her chin. She had small bags under her eyes, hinting that her last night was nowhere near as pleasing as she had hoped. Naturally, her initial question had been muffled by the scarf, which is what startled the Smashers in the first place.

"Oh Lucina!" exclaimed Falcon in surprise. "I didn't see you standing there!" He paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his head and praying that he hadn't come off as a creep with his earlier remarks. "Um… What's with the scarf?"

"Oh this?" she replied innocently. "I was feeling rather cold this morning, but thankfully I had one of these lying around."

She flipped the end of the scarf around in the air playfully, causing Ike and Falcon to exchange glances with each other.

"But it's the middle of summer…" said Ike.

"I'm feeling a little under the weather as well," she replied.

"Why red then? I thought you didn't like that color?"

She took a step back, hesitating slightly before coming up with a response.

"I, ugh… wanted to try something different for a change," she said. "What, I'm only allowed to wear one color all the time?"

"Um, no I didn't mean it like that," replied Ike with a stutter. "It's just that you always wear your blue armor. We just weren't expecting this." He turned to Falcon. "Right?"

Falcon nodded, though he had a hard time covering the stupid grin on his face.

"I understand," said Lucina with a smile, though the other Smashers couldn't tell because of the scarf. "I was actually wondering if you two could meet with me in private after breakfast. I… have something I need to discuss with you."

Both Ike and Falcon exchanged another glance with each other, their curiosity increasing with each passing second.

"Is it about the movie?" asked Ike.

Lucina shuffled uneasily on the spot.

"Kind of," she said. "I don't want anyone else to hear about it though. Meet me in the game room in an hour."

With that, she grabbed a plate of food from a passing Waddle Dee and scurried to the exit of the dining room. As she passed by the table, a few Smashers glanced at her, wondering why she was wearing red and why she had that ridiculous scarf on her face. A few called her name to stop her, but she continued on her way, ignoring any and all comments directed at her. She was suddenly stopped at the door when a fat Italian man walked into the room as she was leaving.

"Hmmm…" said Wario as he studied Lucina's figure from top to bottom.

Lucina backed up a bit, slightly afraid at what the plump man could have possibly been thinking.

"Hey Lucina," he started. "Lookin' good! Wahahaha!"

Wario waddled passed the swordswoman and cheerfully made his way to the food. Lucina just shook her head in response and slipped out the door.

"Wonder what's gotten into her?" said Falcon, chugging the final remains of his coffee.

"I don't know…" replied Ike. "But we're going to find out."

* * *

1 hour later…

* * *

Ike and Falcon entered the game room on the far side of the mansion to find Lucina leaning against one of the air hockey tables. Typically, the game room never saw any action until the weekends, or Wednesday nights when Falcon, Bowser, Mario, Wario, Mr. Game &amp; Watch, and Little Mac would get together for a dozen rounds of beer pong (although it never got that far). Besides air hockey, table tennis, and foosball tables, the room also had an assortment of classic arcade machines lined up against the walls, two large flat screen televisions, every Nintendo console on the shelves (plus one Sega Genesis), and numerous tables for playing board games and card games. It was an excellent place to schedule a secret meeting since the room was always vacant in the morning.

Falcon closed the door tightly behind him before joining Ike against the back of the couch, facing Lucina from across the room. Apparently, she was still wearing the scarf, and she was still dressed in the red armor.

"So what's goin' on?" asked Falcon straightforwardly.

Lucina quietly sighed to herself, somewhat unsure of where to begin.

"Okay," she started. "I had a bad dream last night."

Ike maintained a straight face, surprised that something as simple as a dream could invoke a meeting like this. Falcon, on the other hand, just scoffed.

"Oh, _this_ is what it's about?" he said unenthusiastically. "Lucina, if you weren't enjoying the movie then you should have said something!"

"It's not about that!" she shot back. The sudden change in tone of her voice caused Ike to open his eyes in surprise, Falcon backing down slightly. Lucina's face soon matched her armor's color as she realized how agitated she had become. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," replied Ike. "Continue."

"The dream I had last night," she said. "It felt so real. I don't know how it happened, but I can remember it so vividly even now. That never happens with dreams."

"What was the dream about?"

She recalled the horrifying events that took place in her own bedroom. From the vanishing sword to the burning sensation of the monster's touch, it all came back to her in the blink of an eye.

"I was attacked," she said, "by a creature that I've never seen before. It came into my room like a phantom, silently appearing out of thin air. It held me down against my will and… started torturing me."

"Ooh, I like where this is going," muttered Falcon with a smirk.

Ike nudged him firmly in the groin, earning a whimper in response from the F-Zero racer.

"It had claws like razorblades," continued Lucina, "and emitted some kind of demonic aura that was making my vision all blurry."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," said Ike all of a sudden as he put his hand up. "But before you say anymore, let me ask you this: Is this your first time experiencing a bad dream?"

Lucina looked at him with a frown. Did he take her for an idiot?

"I know what I saw," she replied. "And believe me; as much as I wish this was a dream, a part of me says that it wasn't."

"A part of you says so, huh?" said Falcon, arms crossed. "Well here's a newsflash for you sister: Horror movies give people nightmares. That's the point. If you watch a scary movie late at night, you're bound to have nightmares about it when you go to sleep!"

"Kind of left that part out during last night's movie description eh, Falcon?" said Ike from the side.

"I know this sounds crazy, but I'm telling you the truth," replied Lucina. "Something came into my room last night, and whatever it was, it gave me this."

She pulled the scarf down from her face, revealing a thin red line going all the way down her left cheek. Falcon flinched at the sight before realizing it was nothing but a scratch. Ike raised an eyebrow unimpressively.

"Really?" he said. "You scratched yourself?"

"I didn't scratch myself!" she replied in agitation. "The monster that came into my room last night did this! I almost died!"

At that, Falcon nearly burst into tears of laughter.

"You almost died?" he asked. "Wow, this monster of yours sounds really dangerous. What, was he armed with toothpicks or something?"

He fought as hard as he could to hold back his laughter while the swordswoman just stared at him with a frown on her face.

"I'm telling you it really did happen!" she retorted. "The creature held me down and cut my face with its claws! It would have finished the job too had I not woken up!"

"Lucina," said Ike, putting a hand against his head, "I think you're reading way too much into this. To think that a 'monster' came out of your dream and attacked you in real life… That's just impossible." He felt bad telling her that she was going about the situation completely in the wrong manner, thus he suggested an alternative possibility. "Maybe you just scratched yourself when you were having the nightmare?"

Lucina paused, comprehending this for a moment. She hadn't even considered that she, in her period of distress, could have accidentally swiped her face with her own fingernails, thus causing the vertical wound to appear on her cheek. As a matter of fact, that seemed like the only logical explanation. She knew very well that dreams weren't real, and she especially knew that monsters didn't exist either. But after experiencing something that looked and felt so real, she was certain that whatever creature had attacked her in her dream had somehow reached through the fabric of reality and struck her physically.

With this in mind, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to argue any further about the matter.

"You're… right Ike," she complied hesitantly, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "I probably scratched myself while tossing and turning last night. I must not have realized it."

Ike nodded his head in agreement, while Falcon attempted to regain his composure.

"Even if it was real," said Falcon, "there's no need to worry about a scratch. I can barely notice it from here!"

"Again, the helmet," muttered Ike under his breath.

"You say something Ike?"

"Anyway Lucina," started the swordsman, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. You had a bad dream after watching a scary movie. That's it. I'll bet you that tonight you'll sleep a thousand times better because you won't have that stupid movie playing through your head."

"Hey!" said Falcon. "It's not stupid! You take that back!"

The two Smashers began arguing with each other and wrestling each other's arms while the other tried to get his point across. Lucina couldn't help but giggle at the childish antics of her two comrades.

"_They're right_," she thought. "_There's nothing to be afraid of. I was just overreacting to a bad experience. There's no reason to get so worked up over something silly like this._"

She then proceeded to try and break up the fight between her friends, which surprisingly took a lot more effort than she would have thought. Despite what they had told her, she could hear a small voice in the back of her head telling her that something wasn't right about all of this. And as much as she wanted to believe that voice, it was much easier to simply accept the logical explanation as truth. It was strange to her however, that the voice only knew how to speak one phrase, which lurked in the back of her mind like a spider waiting to pounce on the unfortunate victim trapped in its web.

"_Fear in the consumer. Death is the deliverer._"


	4. Samus' Advice

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 4: Samus' Advice

* * *

The next few hours of Lucina's Saturday were spent getting ready for her scheduled brawl in the training room. She had been previously informed that her next match was against Samus Aran, one of the Smash Brothers' oldest and most tactical fighters. Although she knew next to nothing about the bounty huntress personally, many a Smasher in the past had warned her about Samus' abilities, how she was such a cold-blooded killer, and how she had no tolerance for nonsensical things.

Surely, this was going to be a pleasant match.

In between slashing her sword back and forth across the Sandbag in the training room and nimbly hopping around it to reposition herself, Lucina still found herself being haunted by the memory of that monster from the previous night. The words of the creature echoed through her mindscape, yet she could not place them no matter how hard she tried. She could recall the monster acting as if it had known her from somewhere before.

"_I've waited so long for this day. The day you would finally set me free._"

Set it free from what though? These thoughts kept bouncing around in her head as she attacked the Sandbag, causing her to stop and ponder every once in a while. There was even a moment where she had knocked the Sandbag up into the air, only to have it drop down on her head in the middle of her daydream.

Despite all this, she tried her best to regain control of herself and continue practicing, hoping that these distractions wouldn't affect her during the real brawl.

It was around midafternoon when the match finally began and Lucina descended onto the Battlefield. Samus, clad in her power suit, appeared on the other side of the stage with her arm-cannon at the ready. After a traditional countdown, the fight had begun, and the two Smashers were locked in combat for nearly ten minutes. Despite the clunky suit, Samus was extremely agile in the air. It seemed as though every time Lucina slashed, the bounty huntress would dodge easily before retaliating with a punch or a swift kick. Keeping her distance only resulted in Samus firing projectile after projectile at the swordswoman, so Lucina had no choice but to keep low and stick to her like glue.

Unfortunately, she found herself feeling unusually sluggish compared to previous matches. Part of this was due to her mind being somewhere else half the time, and the other due to some missed sleep caused by the nightmare. The longer the match went on, the more tired she was starting to feel, and by the time eight minutes rolled around, Lucina was having a hard time dodging attacks let alone fighting back. Eventually, her last stock was officially depleted, while Samus still had three remaining.

"GAME!"

* * *

Lucina sat down on the couch in the postgame lobby, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She picked up her water bottle and began chugging it, some of the liquid dripping down her chin and onto her crimson armor. Looking up at the large flat-screen TV in the room, she could see videos of herself getting utterly trounced by Samus on the Battlefield. That match was without a doubt the worst one she had participated in since the start of the tournament. Normally in a losing match, she would be able to get the other fighter down to their last stock at the very least before getting a game over. But this scene she was witnessing was nothing but an insult to her reputation and her skills as a swordsman. Hopefully, Samus didn't get the wrong impression of her as a fighter after this.

"Hey, good match," said a familiar voice.

Lucina turned to one of the doors in the room to see Samus walking in, her power suit still on but her helmet under her arm. She had a small smile on her face.

"You did well," replied Lucina as she wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. She did her best to return the warm gesture. "It looks like I still need more practice."

Samus glanced at the replays on the television, analyzing the movements of both her and her opponent.

"So it would seem," she said. "Don't worry; everyone has a bad match once in a while. Last time I checked, you had a pretty positive record in the tournament, so I wouldn't worry too much over this."

"Thank you, Samus," replied Lucina with a smile.

It seemed that despite what she had been hearing from her friends, Samus was actually quite the understanding individual. Perhaps it was everyone else who had her wrong?

"By the way, what's with the red armor?"

Lucina glanced down at her outfit before looking back up sheepishly.

"Um, my blue one is at the cleaners," she said. "This is all I could find on such a short notice."

"I see. Anyway, if you'd like to sit here and review the match with me, that would be fine. If not, I'm gonna head out of here. Got some things to take care of."

It was recommended by Master Hand that all competitors in the tournament should review the matches with their opponent to help them recognize what aspects they could improve on. Although it was recommended, only those who were serious about their training really took the time to sit down and go over the replays.

"Oh no, don't let me keep you," replied Lucina. "If you have somewhere to be then by all means go ahead. I'd rather not stay here and watch this again, believe me."

"Okay, suit yourself. I'll see you around then."

The bounty huntress gave a nod and a wave. She did a double-take, however, at the weird scar on Lucina's cheek before heading for the door.

"Wait Samus," said Lucina all of a sudden, putting a hand up to stop her.

Samus turned to face her again, this time a curious expression on her face.

"Hmm?" she asked.

The girl lowered her hand slowly, hesitating with all her might. It seemed that even Lucina wasn't sure with what she was about to ask.

"Have you ever…" she paused again before continuing. "Had a nightmare before?"

Samus raised an eyebrow at the question, wondering why on earth she would ask her something so trivial. Nevertheless, she remained curious as to where this conversation was going.

"I have," she replied, the look of uncertainty still in her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Well… I've been having these bad dreams for the past few nights," said Lucina, trying to sound as casual as possible, "and I was wondering if you would know of any methods to help prevent such a thing?"

Samus paused for a moment, trying to come up with an appropriate answer. She never really thought about it before since she rarely ever had bad dreams.

"I'm not really sure about how to prevent bad dreams," she said. "But I remember talking about something like this with Meta Knight a long time ago. He said something like it's possible to wake yourself up from a nightmare if you find yourself in the middle of one."

"Really?" replied Lucina with great interest. "How?"

"I don't know; it's hard to describe. You gotta like… establish in your mind what's real and what's not. When you just let your dream take over, you believe everything that's going on. But once you recognize the difference between true and false, then I think you can use that to wake yourself up." She put a hand to her chin, pondering for another moment. "Or you could just plug your nose. I'm pretty sure that works too."

"Plug my nose?..."

Lucina imagined herself firmly squeezing her nose with her finger and thumb. The very thought of it looked and sounded ridiculous, but she supposed it kind of made sense. If she were to stop breathing in her dream, surely the lack of air in her lungs would shock her back into reality. Establishing the difference between what is real and made-up would have also helped her immensely when she was being strangled by that demonic bed sheet.

"I think I understand," said Lucina graciously. "Thank you, Samus."

"Don't mention it," she replied before turning and exiting the room. "See ya later."

"Bye."

Lucina looked back at the screen and watched the video of her and Samus' fight. She wasn't even paying attention to all the mistakes she was making. All she could think about was what would happen if that creature from her dreams appeared in her room again in the night. Even with the support of her friends, they didn't seem to understand what she was going through.

Samus' words may have been the best advice she had received since her first encounter with the monster.

* * *

The rest of the day went on more quickly than Lucina would have liked. After sitting in the postgame lobby for nearly ten minutes after Samus had left, she headed back to her dorm for a quick shower. Along the way, she had run into Sonic in the halls, who challenged her to a race around the mansion. To the hedgehog's dismay, she had declined, but only because she was feeling pretty tired due to her previous brawl. She arrived in her room to find her blue armor washed and dried thanks to the Waddle Dees.

After getting cleaned up, she met up with her good friends Robin and Shulk in one of the commons areas to relax and hang out for a bit. They usually had talks about what was going on in the mansion, or life in general, but Lucina tried to not let them know too much about her match with Samus (or anything about her nightmarish experience for that matter).

Thereafter, they joined the other Smashers in the dining room for dinner. The Waddle Dees had cooked up quite an impressive feast, consisting of steak (or chicken if preferred), assorted vegetables, bread stuffing, and pasta. Despite the great amount of food that was available, the poor girl found herself with barely an appetite, as she was yet again distracted by the bizarre dream. She wondered if the other night was merely a fluke and that she was completely overthinking this entire ordeal. She did her best however, to maintain her usual composure so that none of the other Smashers would suspect anything. A glance down the table showed her that Ike and Samus were conversing about something, but they were too far away and the noise was too loud for her to make anything of it. Admittedly, she had the slightest suspicion that the bounty huntress was divulging their earlier conversation to the blue-haired mercenary, but shrugged it off thinking that, again, she was reading too much into it.

The remaining hours of the day were spent in her room reading a book and polishing her sword. Despite the constant yelling and screaming from another Saturday night game of Laser Football Tag (LFT) outside on the grounds, she found peace by sitting on a chair and putting on some earplugs. It wasn't long before the events of the day were starting to really wear on her, and Lucina had no choice but to put her book down and get ready for bed.

She contemplated changing into her nightwear, but decided to stick with the blue armor, if (by some chance) she received another unexpected visit in the middle of the night. For good measure, she leaned her Falchion against the side of her bed so that it would be in arm's reach in case of an emergency.

"_Establish what is real and what is not_," she thought to herself as she pulled the blanket over her. "_If all else fails, plug your nose._"

She was tossing and turning for almost an hour, waiting for something to happen. Occasionally, she would open an eye to inspect the balcony door across the room only to find it still and untouched. The suspense was causing her brain to remain pretty active as she kept thinking about ways to try and recreate her actions from last night to make this creature appear. From changing sleeping positions to moving her sheets around, nothing seemed to be working.

"_Just go to sleep for goodness' sake._"

She eventually stopped thinking about the dream and soon enough, her mind began to wander. It wandered and wandered until it finally found a place to settle down and rest. It wasn't long before she drifted off into a deep sleep, completely unaware of the knocking coming from her balcony room door.


	5. The Second Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 5: The Second Encounter

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The faint sound of something small and solid hitting the balcony window stirred Lucina back into reality. She blinked a few times, registering where she was and what was going on before she noticed a small object fly up into the air outside and knock against the window.

Someone was throwing rocks at her door.

"_How peculiar_," she thought. "_Who would do such a thing at this time of night?_"

Incidentally, it was long after curfew for the Smashers and if anyone was caught wandering about outside the building, well, let's just say the punishments were pretty severe. This never used to be an issue until the Brawl tournament when Captain Falcon, Lucas and Ness had run into the forest in search of a "werewolf" one night, which turned out to be just Wolf going for a midnight stroll to enjoy the full moon (what a crazy Halloween _that_ turned out to be). Master Hand had made it clear that anyone caught outside the mansion after dark would be suspended from the next few weeks of brawling, which could turn out to be disastrous for some Smashers depending on their position.

Whoever was trying to get Lucina's attention must have had a damn good reason for doing so.

Quietly, the swordswoman rolled out of bed and made her way to the balcony. She looked about through the glass to see nothing but a few pebbles on the floor outside and a full moon overhead. Another stone coming up from the ground and hitting the glass in front of her eyes caused her to flinch before she promptly opened the door and stepped out into the night air.

She walked up to the edge of the balcony and peered down expecting Falcon to be dressed in some weird getup and attempting to serenade her again like he did last month (no one is to say anything about that event). To her surprise, there was nothing down there—not even any woodland creatures or wild Pokémon. The pavement was barren, the picnic tables were empty, and the lawn was as untouched as it had been when it was last cut.

"Hello?" she asked aloud. "Is anyone there?"

The breezy wind brushed her cape and hair up a few inches, but other than that, there was no response from any source of nature. She was beginning to wonder if someone was playing a prank on her. She quickly scanned the area one more time before returning to the confinements of her room and closing the door tightly.

"_How very strange… I thought I heard a noise coming from out there… Unless…_"

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted yet again by more tapping on the window. She quickly turned on her heels in the direction of the balcony, but nearly shrieked when she saw a lone figure standing outside the door and looking in at her.

The figure outside did not belong to that of the monster she had encountered in the previous night. In fact, the being standing outside looked rather human. From head to toe, the person was dressed in exactly the same outfit as Lucina, from the cape and boots to the blue shoulder plates. Not only that, but the figure also had the exact same hair-style, hair color, and body figure of Lucina. It was like she was standing in front of a mirror! But of all these similarities, there was one outstandingly huge factor about this person that nearly caused Lucina to jump out of her skin.

The mirror image of the outside individual had no face. No, instead of a face, this doppelganger had nothing but a black void to gaze into. No eyes, no nose, no mouth, nothing to distinguish the thought that this thing could really be human.

Lucina took a step back in shock, putting an arm up as if it would protect her from the empty stare of the woman outside. The other person did not move however, and continued to gaze longingly into Lucina's eyes, as if it were beckoning for her to open up the door for it. The creature outside raised a hand and began firmly knocking on the door.

"What are you!?" shouted Lucina in disbelief.

The woman continued knocking, ignoring Lucina's question entirely. Who knew if the thing could even understand English? Who knew if it even had ears beneath all that hair? Lucina ended up standing there for almost a minute, chilled to the bone as she tried to determine the supernatural cause of this confrontation.

"_This has to be a dream_," she thought. "_There's no denying it. This creature is entirely different from the one last night. What is it trying to do?_"

Nevertheless, a dream was still a dream. Yet, despite the fact that she was well aware of this by now, she still wasn't waking up. The "Lucina" outside now had both fists in the air and was pounding on the glass as if it were trying to break free from some sort of captivity.

"_Calm down, it's only a dream_," Lucina thought as she took a deep breath. She glanced back at the figure outside, holding her ground as best she could. "_Just wake up and it will all be over_."

She reached up to her face and squeezed her nose with her thumb and forefinger, holding her breath as tightly as she could. She closed her eyes and tried to think about being home in the mansion with her friends. All the while, the woman kept on knocking, but Lucina did her best to take her mind off the situation by thinking about unrelated events like waking up early in the morning in order to beat the breakfast rush.

After a few minutes of idly standing by, she could feel her lungs starting to fight back, forcefully trying to find their way to any oxygen they could salvage. Her face was almost as blue as her hair, but when it got to that point, she had no choice but to let go. Her hand fell clean off her face and she began coughing and panting for breath.

"_Did that do it?_"

She glanced up to see if the creature was still outside, but froze on the spot at the sight. Indeed the woman was still standing out on the balcony bathed in moonlight, but this time she was wielding a Falchion. Lucina's eyes went wide as she saw the doppelganger lift the sword high into the air and slam it down against the glass, the finely tempered steel shattering the pane instantaneously. Lucina covered herself from the raining glass in her direction and opened her eyes to see that there no longer was a barrier separating her from the mysterious intruder. The empty-faced "Lucina" stared at her and raised its sword.

It looked like reasoning with it was out of the question.

The creature silently lunged at Lucina, but she swiftly dodged backwards with a jump, landing lightly on her bed and pulling her sword up from its place. She stepped down onto the floor and swung her Falchion about in a threatening manner.

"Identify yourself, monster," she demanded.

The other woman only stared in response before it charged at her ready for another attack. The creature slashed forward, forcing Lucina to dodge to the left where she then retaliated with a strike of her own. The woman parried the blow and began performing Dancing Blade, a sword technique that was only practiced by Lucina and Marth. The onslaught of blades forced her to backed off as the woman began flailing about, slicing up furniture and other household objects in the room.

"_It copied my own moves!_" she thought. "_How can this be?_"

Lucina dashed forward and performed a frontal slash, but the monster was swift enough to dodge the attack again. The two sword-wielders became locked in a clash of blades, each of them swinging at the other, but no hits being taken as the other was either quick to move or quick to parry. If this creature was not going to negotiate, then Lucina had no choice but to cut it down where it stood. The only problem was that this fake woman actually _was_ proving to be a good enough match for her.

If she didn't know any better, Lucina would have thought that this monster was her own equal on the battlefield.

The creature lunged high in an attempt to slice off the Smasher's head, but that was the opportunity Lucina needed. For when the monster slashed high, Lucina ducked down and slashed low, cutting it horizontally across the stomach. The empty-faced human silently stumbled back in pain, holding its wound with one of its hands. Lucina stood triumphantly with a hand on her hip.

"You may look like me," she said, "but you cannot think like me. Now identify yourself before I cut you to ribbons!"

The creature only stared blankly at Lucina, limping ever so slightly. It pulled its arm away from its abdomen, revealing not a single drop of blood. Beneath the clean cut of the armor, Lucina could see nothing but blackness, just like the face of the being.

"But, how-"

She flinched, a sudden pain shooting across the front of her body as she grabbed herself with her free hand. Her armor had been cut and she was bleeding in the exact same location where she had thought she cut the doppelganger. Perhaps this horrifying intruder was more than just a mirror image? Small drops of blood began seeping through her teeth and down her chin, causing her to wipe her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

"_It didn't touch me once with that sword_," thought Lucina distressfully. "_How am I bleeding?_"

The creature made a solemn bow, as if it were being applauded for some sort of magic trick it just performed. Immediately after that, the monster sprang into berserk mode. It slashed at Lucina again across the chest. Although she was able to deflect it, she was not able to block the next attack as it was another direct hit to her side. Another slash soon followed to her leg, then her torso, and soon she felt like she had been sent through a meat grinder. No matter what attacks she delivered back to the fake "Lucina," the creature would not flinch or stutter, and every direct hit would only be redirected back at her like it did the first time. Blood was splattering up against the walls, on the ceiling, on whatever was left of the furniture, all of it belonging to Lucina. In a final attempt, Lucina leaned forward and pressed her bleeding Falchion right through the chest of the monster, but of course the creature was unfazed. It grabbed the swordswoman by her hair and threw her against the side of the bed, the sword still wedged in its ribcage.

Through blood and tears, Lucina looked up to see a blurry image of herself approaching her, preparing to seal her own demise. At this point, Lucina wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. All she knew was that she wanted it to stop. The dark energy emanating from this creature crept up her body, merging itself into her own fears. She had no choice but to stare wide-eyed at the familiar woman, reeling back its sword over her head.

Lucina was shaking uncontrollably, slamming her eyes shut and praying that someone would wake her up from this nightmare. A small voice suddenly echoed through the room, causing her to look back up at the empty face of her executioner.

"_Do not fret, Lucina_," said the distorted voice of the creature. "_It will all be over soon_."

The sword shot forward, impaling Lucina through her face.

Lucina sprang up from her bed drenched in sweat and tears, screaming at the top of her lungs in horror. Her eyes quickly darted about the room searching for any sign of the intruder, but thankfully the faceless copy was nowhere to be found. The sound of multiple footsteps stampeding down the hall outside brought her to attention, as the murmuring voices of some Smashers could be heard coming through the walls. The moonlight gleamed chillingly into the room from the nearby glass balcony door, verifying that the horrifying events of the night were nothing more than another bad dream.

Or were they?

Lucina suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her torso, as well as a few of her limbs. She looked down to see that she was bleeding all over the place, and her bed sheets had almost been painted completely red. A series of pounding fists on her door soon followed, as well as several voices calling in to ask if she was alright and for her to open up.

She barely had the strength to answer them.

"Help…me…"

With the amount of blood loss that she had suffered, she quickly began to feel light-headed, and soon enough, she had collapsed back onto her blood-stained pillow and blacked out. A trusty Falcon Punch was able to break down the front door in a matter of seconds, and it wasn't long before she had been rushed to the hospital wing.

Had she taken the time to examine the balcony door a bit closer, she would have noticed the pebbles still lying on the ground outside.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much to pokemonrhoades, Pitta, F-ZeroSamus, and my anonymous readers for reviewing, and I'm sorry for the long update but it's been a crazy two weeks for me (plus any chances I have to update stories is currently going to my other one in progress). My assignments have all be submitted for the week however and guess what? Smash Bros. 4 3DS comes out tomorrow! I'll be getting' up early to go snag my copy and you should all do the same! If you guys don't hear from me for a while, you'll know the reason why, but I'll try to get back to updating this story as soon as I can afterwards. Leave a review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter and I'll catch you on the flip side!


	6. Time to Recover

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 6: Time to Recover

* * *

The midafternoon sun shining brightly in through the window had awoken Lucina from her deep sleep. She found herself lying in a hospital bed in a clean white room with various medical equipment propped up against the nearby wall. Her drowsy eyes rolled from one end of the room to the other when they stopped at a beautiful woman sitting next to her bedside.

Princess Zelda had her eyes closed, her hands clasped around that of the swordswoman's, and a pulsating golden aura emanating from where they contacted. Lucina could feel a strange energy flowing through her body, the stabbing wounds of the nightmare slowly disappearing, as if a holy sponge had been rubbed on her to cleanse every drop of blood away.

The turn of events from the previous night suddenly flashed through her head.

"_What in the world was that creature?_" she thought. "_And where did it come from?_"

Just like her first encounter with the demonic being from the movie night, the words of this second entity echoed through the chasms of her psyche.

"_It will all be over soon._"

She tried moving her limbs around, which already felt better than they did on the night of the attack. She realized that she was dressed in a standard white hospital gown with layers of bandages wrapped around her torso, arms, and legs. Some of the wrappings had been stained red from her wounds. Her sudden movements naturally caused Zelda to break out of her trance.

"Oh, you're awake," said the Hyrulian princess warmly. "How are you feeling?"

Lucina could only shrug her shoulders, though her facial expression was still pretty depressing.

"Better," she replied weakly. "Although I do have a slight headache."

"There's nothing I can do about that I'm afraid," responded Zelda, taking her hands off of her. "I can get some Tylenol from Dr. Mario if you like."

Lucina shook her head, dismissing her previous comment. Her mind was flooded with questions about the copycat; all she wanted was someone to talk to about it.

"What happened last night?" she asked.

Zelda hesitated before replying, trying to think of a way to explain the situation.

"We heard you screaming in your room," she said straightforwardly. "It wasn't just any scream either; you sounded like you were in pain." Lucina's eyes fell to her hands. "We ran to your room as quickly as we could and tried to open the door but it was locked. Captain Falcon had to break it down. When we saw you… we thought you were dead."

Lucina recalled the painful experience of being cut up like some boar at a slaughterhouse, cringing at the thought of being utterly humiliated at the hands of her assaulter.

"Did you see my attacker?" she asked hopefully.

Zelda shook her head.

"There was no one there except you. You lost a lot of blood, but thankfully you were able to recover. I have been concentrating my healing magic on your core for almost the entire day. It will help to ease the pain."

"I noticed," replied Lucina, trying to muster a smile. "Thank you."

It's a well-known fact that the Smashers are more than physically capable of taking a beating. Day-in and day-out their bodies underwent serious training whether it resulted from the tournament or from their own personal disciplines. So naturally it wasn't unheard of for a Smasher to survive a bullet wound or a sword slash that would otherwise be fatal to any regular person. There was a reason why Master Hand considered the Super Smash Brothers to be a collection of the strongest fighters in the universe. And Lucina certainly was no exception to this rule.

Regardless of what Zelda had told her, Lucina still felt upset that the other Smashers did not see the mysterious creature from her balcony. There's no way that the whole ordeal could have been a dream, not when she had gone through such a painful experience like that.

"One other thing," said Zelda all of a sudden. "You were holding your sword when we found you. It took them forever to pry it from your hands."

"What?" replied Lucina in surprise.

The princess gestured to the other bed in the room, showing Lucina that her bloody Falchion was standing up and leaning against the bedside. It was then when Lucina realized what she was alluding to.

"This isn't what it looks like," said Lucina seriously. "I was attacked in my sleep last night by an intruder."

"I want to believe you, Lucina," replied the princess, "however, it is impossible for anyone to break into the mansion. Master Hand has put a magical seal on the grounds, preventing any and all intrusions on the property."

This was true, and was also proven one day a few years ago when Diddy Kong had wandered out into the forest and accidentally disturbed the overpassing Rayquaza. The legendary Flying Pokémon had gone on a rampage and began destroying everything in the immediate vicinity. Diddy had fortunately fled back to the mansion, but was followed by Rayquaza along the way. Thanks to the magical barrier protecting the mansion, Rayquaza could not harm anything on the grounds, and subsequently returned to its resting place.

"Well, the barrier didn't have any effect on this creature," said Lucina. "It broke into my room through the balcony door with ease and began attacking me on the spot."

"Your room was untouched for the most part. Nothing near the balcony was disturbed in any way." Zelda put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure the others a worried sick about you. Please try to get some rest and we can talk about this afterwards. If you need anything you can use the buzzer to call Dr. Mario; he should be here soon to check up on you."

The princess promptly got up and made her way out of the room, leaving Lucina all to her lonesome. She found herself staring at her Falchion across the room for a few minutes, studying the bloody marks along the blade's edge.

"_I'm not crazy_," she thought to herself. "_That woman attacked me last night just as that demon had done so it in the night before. There must be something I can do…_"

It was hard to concentrate due to her light-headedness, but she tried her best to come up with a new plan to fight back against the mysterious creatures of the night. She did her best not to pass out however for fear that the faceless monster would show itself in her room again.

* * *

The rest of Lucina's Sunday was evidently uneventful, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing either since that was the case for most of the other Smashers. As a matter of fact, Sunday was the only day of the week when daily matches were not scheduled, giving Smashers free reign to do whatever they wanted with their day, although most would normally commit it to whatever hobbies or personal projects they themselves were working on. Even with the fourteen hours of sleep from the first part of the day, Lucina was still finding it hard to stay awake and keep herself entertained. Dr. Mario had shown up just as Zelda said to check on her, giving her some Tylenol and also providing her with some light food to keep her energy levels up.

Despite the hospitality, the hospital wing was still a pretty depressing place to be. Typically, the rooms would have at least a few Smashers in the beds at any given time due to the nature of the tournaments, but recently there had been no need for such things. It looked like the Smashers were getting better at not beating each other up too bad.

Some of the Smashers had paid Lucina a visit during the day, mainly just to see how she was doing and to give her "Get Well Soon" cards. Kirby had even cooked her some fried rice to make her feel better (although if you asked her, fried rice was not the best thing to give someone recovering from an injury), while Toon Link and Villager banded together to clean and polish her sword (even though some were still skeptical about them doing that). When Marth came to visit, she naturally felt embarrassed for the Hero-King to see her in such a helpless state, but fortunately he was quite understanding of her situation, mentioning that the only thing that mattered was a safe and healthy recovery. Incidentally, Captain Falcon had taken the liberty of not only making a card, but also picking her some flowers (from Olimar's garden, hush hush) and getting her a stuffed bear, to which she had to admit was by far the most thoughtful and heartwarming thing she had ever received from the F-Zero racer.

When asked about anything related to the incident however, Lucina would dismiss such questions, stating that she was either too tired or uncomfortable to go into any detail about it. She assured her fellow Smashers that she would explain everything to them after her recovery, though admittedly some were still not satisfied with that answer, giving her long hard stares as if she was trying to hide something from public eyes.

Later on in the afternoon, after most of the Smashers had come and left with their kind words or gifts, Falcon and Ike collectively met together with Lucina to finally establish exactly what the hell happened in the night prior.

"So let me get this straight," said Ike, standing with his arms crossed next to Lucina's bed. "You were attacked by a swordsman who was dressed like you?"

Lucina nodded, her hands together in her lap as if she were in prayer.

"It wasn't only dressed like me," she explained, "but it looked just like me. We even had the same hair and carried the same sword."

Falcon was leaning against the wall near the window staring at the ground. His usual upbeat and happy-go-lucky demeanor was deflated by Lucina's physical state.

"Darn it, if only I were there…" he muttered.

"I don't need protection," replied Lucina harshly. "I need you to believe me."

"We believe you Lucina," said Ike reassuringly, although for some reason she really wasn't convinced.

"You don't understand," she replied seriously. "Some of the Smashers are starting to think that I did this to myself." She pointed at the small scabs along her neck with her bandaged arm. "I can see it in their eyes. If Master Hand finds out about this, I don't know what he's going to do."

Falcon slammed his fist into the wall, startling the other two swordsmen momentarily.

"He's not going to do anything," said Falcon seriously. "If he does, he'll have to go through me!"

"Calm down," replied Ike. "You're getting ahead of yourself."

"If he so much as puts a finger on her, I'll break his bones so hard that-"

"Lucina, he probably already knows about this," interrupted Ike. "He's just been really busy with scheduling the tournament. It's also likely that he's waiting for all the excitement to die down before coming to see you."

"I just don't want him to think that this is me," she replied. "Because it's not. I can understand if you two didn't want to believe what happened during the first night, but after this… I'm asking you as a friend. Please don't abandon me."

Her voice seemed to crack slightly as she said those last words, causing Falcon to get all choked up. Ike glanced at him, but the F-Zero racer took no notice. All he could see was a sad girl sitting in the bed, wounded and broken from the recent turn of unfortunate events. Instinctively, he made his way over to her bedside and was about to give her a hug when a sudden series of knocks came from the door.

"Come in," said Ike calmly.

"Am I interrupting anything?" asked Robin as he stepped into the room.

"No, not at all," replied Ike, although Falcon would have liked to raise a hand in objection.

The young mage waltzed over to Lucina's bedside with a warm smile, giving her little choice but to regain her composure.

"I brought these for you," he said, producing a beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers from seemingly out of nowhere.

Falcon's mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"Oh my, these are lovely," replied Lucina, mustering the best smile she could as she received the gift. "Thank you, Robin."

"Think nothing of it," he replied. "Just doing my part in aiding your recovery. How are you feeling by the way?"

"I'm getting better," she replied. "Princess Zelda's magic took away a lot of the pain. I don't feel bad, but I'm still tired."

"From the loss of blood no doubt. You gave us all quite a scare last night. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened?"

Falcon crossed his arms and retook his place against the wall, knowing full well that Lucina trusted Robin as one of her closest friends, and would without a doubt divulge every last bit of information about her nightmare to him. Although she was hesitant to at first, she knew she wanted to tell Robin everything about the incidents now. Surely the scholar would know something about how to deal with these attacks, or at least be able to offer some sound advice.

Ike, more or less, was content with hearing the tale again.

She told them of the first night, when the large demon from her dreams had appeared in her room, manipulating her bed sheets into a snake-like coil around her body. It had claws like a werewolf, a smile like a psychotic jester, and eyes that gleamed red in the night. She even gestured to the scar along her face that was still noticeable after the assault. Unlike Falcon and Ike, who had previously dismissed her descriptions of the first night, Robin was taking everything in like a child being read a storybook. She then went on to the second night, about the faceless phantom on her balcony, and how the creature could mimic her every sword move like her own reflection. The slash wounds on her body were proof enough that the magical barrier protecting the mansion may not have been as trustworthy as they thought.

"I fear that another monster may spawn in my room when I fall asleep tonight," she said honestly. "But I don't know what I can do to prevent it."

Plugging her nose sure as hell didn't help much.

Robin put a finger to his chin, thinking about her rather vivid explanation. He glanced at Ike who also glanced back with a shrug of his shoulders, not sure of what to make of the situation. Falcon remained against the wall with his arms crossed.

"You said that these nightmares started occurring Friday night?" asked Robin.

"Yes," replied Lucina. "It was after we had watched that Horror movie when the first monster appeared in my dreams."

"Hmm. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Oh really?" spat Falcon. "Well I hate to burst your bubble 'wise guy,' but Ike and I also stayed up to watch that movie and we're perfectly fine!"

"You're forgetting, Falcon," said Ike, "that you and I both fell asleep. Lucina was the only one who stayed up through the whole thing."

Robin raised his eyebrows at Falcon who promptly turned away.

"There are a number of possibilities as to why this could be occurring," said Robin, "but there won't be a true answer unless we obtain more information."

"You believe me though, don't you?" asked Lucina, trying not to sound desperate but failing.

"Of course I do," replied Robin warmly. "Seriously, the thought that you could do _this_ to yourself, let alone in your sleep, is absolute ludicrous."

Ike's face turned a soft red as the mage said those last words, but quickly discarded the thought.

"What should we do then?" he asked. "Wait for her to fall asleep and see what happens?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," replied Robin calmly. "No one here except Lucina has seen these monsters in person. If someone were to hide out here during the night, surely they would see some form of these nightmares occurring whether it be through Lucina or otherwise."

"I'll do it," said Falcon hastily from the side. "I'll stay up the entire night, and if any of those freaks decide to show up, they're gonna get a Falcon Punch to the face!"

"Is staying in my room the only way though?" asked Lucina.

"She's right," responded Ike. "She won't be able to fall asleep normally if we stand in here watching her. We'll have to find another way."

"I believe R.O.B. keeps video surveillance of every public room in the mansion regularly," said Robin. "You can ask him if you can keep watch for the night in the security room."

Ike glanced at Falcon who, though skeptical, responded with a firm nod.

"Okay, we'll do it," said Ike. "But what about you?"

"I'm going to the library," replied Robin. "Surely there must be something in the archives that can give us a hint at what we're up against here. If I find anything, I'll let you know. Give me until tomorrow at least."

"Sounds good. We'll let you know if we learn anything as well. Right Falcon?"

"Um, yeah sure, of course," said the F-Zero racer unenthusiastically.

Robin nodded his head before turning back to Lucina.

"Thank you all for doing this," she said with a smile. "It really means a lot to me."

"I can well imagine," replied Robin. "Well, I best be off then. There are a few books I have to return to Marth before I get to work." He put a warm hand on Lucina's, pressing it gently. "Do try to get better. I'll see you soon."

"Good-bye Robin," she replied. "And thank you."

With that, the mage took his leave, but not before waving to the other two Smashers in the room. A few seconds after he had left, Falcon stomped his foot on the tiled floor.

"Man, who does that guy think he is?" he mumbled with a frown.

"I don't know," chuckled Ike. "But if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

"What!? Me jealous of that goody-two-shoes tactician!?" he replied. "Please, I don't have a jealous bone in my body. The guy's a wuss anyway; what's there to be jealous of?"

Ike already knew the answer to that question.

"I appreciate what you both are trying to do for me," said Lucina all of a sudden. "If there's anything I can do to repay you in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Well now that you mention it…" said Falcon.

"Don't thank us yet," interrupted Ike again. "We still haven't put a stop to these nightmares. Tonight, Falcon and I will meet with R.O.B. in the security room and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If something does go wrong in here, we'll know."

The three friends talked for a few more minutes about the plan before Dr. Mario had walked into the room to check on Lucina. Ike and Falcon took that as a sign to leave, but they were quick to rendezvous in the hall to discuss what they were going to do to help Lucina.

After a few hours of napping, Lucina had awoken to a warm dinner delivered by one of the Waddle Dees, and despite the wounds on her body, she had no problem eating it all. Zelda's magic had indeed worked wonders for her; however, the day wasn't over yet. The ultimate test was going to take place after dark, after all of the Smashers had fallen asleep and, most importantly, after Lucina had fallen asleep.

For her sake, Falcon and Ike better have been keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious.

If not, well, then she was probably going to die a painful and gory death.


	7. The Third Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 7: The Third Encounter

* * *

With memories of the other night's incident still lingering in her head, Lucina was having a hard time falling asleep. She tossed and turned for more than an hour, opening her eyes slightly at the small security camera suspended in a high corner of her hospital room. Even with the watchful eye of the camera on her, she couldn't help but feel that she was in danger. Earlier, she had moved her Falchion to her nightstand so that she could easily reach it in case of another break in.

That being said, she wasn't feeling too confident in herself.

If that doppelganger were to show up again, who knows if she would be able to fight it one on one in her current condition. Ultimately, she was more concerned with the Smashers sitting on the other end of the camera, hoping that if another nightmare were to occur, they would be able to witness it firsthand. Whether or not they would be able to help her with it, well, she could only hope for the best.

After a few minutes of laying perfectly still, her breathing soon became light and constant, her eyes closed like an innocent child taking a nap. As anyone would when falling asleep, she lost track of time, and her mind began to wander off into the mystical realm of Dreamland.

Unfortunately, she wasn't aware at all of a creeping shadow scurrying across the tiled floor. The shadow was quick, graceful, and scaled the flat walls like a spider, silently crawling across the ceiling above Lucina's bed. Had she been awake for just a little longer, she would have seen the creature scampering about her room, and would have naturally prepared a counterattack.

To the Smashers looking through the camera eye, all seemed like another normal night in Smash Mansion.

* * *

"She's finally asleep," said Ike as he studied the black and white image of Lucina's room on the screen.

Ike, Captain Falcon, and R.O.B. were sitting in the mansion's security room, a room that was filled to the brim with monitors wired to every security camera in the building. It was also possibly the darkest room in the entire mansion. There were about thirty or so screens against the wall, with a main control panel along the bottom that only R.O.B. knew how to manage efficiently. The cameras themselves were tied to every public area of the mansion, some notable locations being the courtyard, the foyer, the roof, the ballroom, and the dining room. The hospital wing was obviously the one that these Smashers were concerned with, though R.O.B. was very talented at keeping track of every room at any given time regardless. Without a need to eat or sleep, the Robotic Operating Buddy was the ultimate security guard, and he did his duties to the utmost best of his mechanical abilities.

"Remind me," stated R.O.B. in his monotonous robotic voice, "what it is we are searching for?"

Captain Falcon took a long gulp of his cup of coffee, allowing Ike to respond.

"Anything that looks out of the ordinary," replied the mercenary. "She said that there were monsters that attacked her in her room last night and the night before. If you see anything, raise the alarm."

"Not sure what good that will do us," said Falcon as he put down his mug. "The alarm will only summon the Waddle Dees, and if those monsters are as bad as she says they are, I doubt they'll stand a chance against them." He took another quick drink of his beverage before continuing. "You have a better chance of me running over there to fight those things."

"We need you here to watch the screens," replied Ike.

"Not necessarily," said R.O.B., his metallic head panning from one screen to another. "I am fully capable of keeping consistent surveillance by myself."

"Yeah Ike, so why are we even here?" asked Falcon. "We should be waiting outside of Lucina's room ready to strike in case something goes wrong!"

Ike scratched the back of his head, somewhat surprised that the F-Zero racer actually had a good point for once.

"Well," he began, "Lucina told us what the creatures looked like on the night she was attacked. If we stay here we can keep an eye out for them."

"The chances of a monster breaking into the mansion are roughly 0.43%," stated R.O.B. blankly. "Any creature that is able to bypass the barrier likely possesses some sort of otherworldly power that would render our own defenses completely useless. There is no being in our records that would have enough power to cause such destruction, with the exception of Tabuu."

Tabuu. Even the mere mention of his name still sent shivers up and down Ike's spine. Tabuu was the alleged leader of the Subspace Army, and was also subsequently defeated by the Smashers about seven years prior. This of course happened before any of the newcomers for the new tournament showed up, including Lucina. An epic war had taken place in Subspace, which prove to be the ultimate test of trust between the Smashers at the time. Alliances had to be formed, lifelong enemies needed to put their differences aside. It was the first time in Master Hand's life when he had seen Link and Ganondorf actually shake hands. The battle of Subspace proved to the universe exactly who the Super Smash Brothers were and why they were such a force to be reckoned with. Tabuu ultimately learned that the hard way and was defeated at the hands of the Smashers. With what R.O.B. was saying however, could Lucina's nightmares somehow be linked to the possibility of Tabuu's second coming?

"Pfft," spat Falcon. "Tabuu, really? That guy's deader than the Ice Climbers franchise."

"It is not likely that Tabuu would return," replied R.O.B. "But it does not remove the fact that there could exist a being with at least as much power as he."

Even if there was, chances are it would have killed them all by now anyway.

"Guys, stay focused," said Ike, his eyes scanning the monitor. "That creature could appear at any moment now."

The three friends sat there and stared at the screens for what seemed like hours. Even after downing two cups of coffee, Ike and Falcon were having a hard time staying awake. It must have been around 3 in the morning by now, but they remained vigilant in their attempt to watch over Lucina. Every now and then, Ike would scan the other monitors to see absolutely nothing going on. He would have to look away from the bright screens occasionally to refocus his eyes and to stop the shining colors from appearing whenever he closed them. Falcon, as tired as he was, refused to back down on the thought that Ike would tell Robin he fell asleep on the job.

"Jeez, R.O.B.," said Falcon with a yawn. "How can you stay awake so long without getting tired?"

"I am a robot," replied R.O.B. straightforwardly. "I do not require basic survival needs unlike you humans."

"But don't you ever get worn out? Like, your circuits malfunctioning, or an oil change or something?"

"Rarely," he replied. "I can operate normally for several weeks without requiring a shutdown or reboot."

R.O.B. was probably one of the strangest Smashers Falcon and Ike had ever met in their careers. It's not that he was a robot so much as the fact that he was so neutral towards everything. With the exception of that event during the Subspace Emissary where R.O.B. had fought to protect his clones, the robot didn't seem to sway to anyone's side in any kind of conversation or conflict. He had friends sure, but he treated everyone the same anyway. He didn't care for social gatherings, nor did he care to spend time with Smashers alone. He was a hard worker and he was perfectly content with just that. This of course was a problem whenever someone had to face him in a tournament because R.O.B. wasn't the type of Smasher to go easy on anyone. It made the F-Zero racer wonder just how lonely this robot was before he joined the Smash Bros.

"Don't you ever get bored?" asked Falcon, followed by another drawn out yawn.

"Negative," replied R.O.B., his eyes still fixed on the screens. "Boredom is a nonexistent emotion to me."

"_Along with every other emotion_," thought Ike.

"Man, this sucks," said Falcon with his arms crossed. "I almost wish something would happen already."

The three Smashers resumed their watching of Lucina's room. Just as it had been a few hours earlier, nothing was amiss here. Lucina continued to sleep soundly as if she didn't have a care in the world (although due to the past few nights, she was indeed feeling quite the opposite). The clock ticked and the silent buzzing of the monitors began to flicker every now and then, but other than that, it was a silent night.

Minutes passed, soon another hour, and the next thing anyone knew it was already 4:30 in the morning. If they were to wait another hour, they would soon see Little Mac out in the halls making his way to the training room for his morning exercises. The idleness was starting to wear on the human Smashers, especially Falcon who couldn't go a day without at least nine hours of sleep. The coffee was only making him more anxious, and even after five bathroom breaks he was starting to think that this whole operation was just a wild goose chase. Ike was not fairing so well either and found himself getting up to do some push-ups or chin-ups in order to keep the blood flowing through his body. R.O.B. as always remained stationary, his head panning from one monitor to the next mechanically as if his sole purpose in life was to sit still and watch security screens all day.

Lucina had suddenly moved from her sideways position to lying on her back, a completely normal thing for anyone trying to catch some Z's. R.O.B. noticed however, that her hands were wrapped around her neck in an odd manner, making it look like she was trying to choke herself. Her head began shaking aggressively back and forth as if she was struggling to break free from something. All these actions over the course of a few seconds were more evidence than the robot needed to confirm something was going on.

"She's awake," said R.O.B. all of a sudden.

"She is?" asked Falcon, jumping at attention. The F-Zero racer and his companion got up from their seats and studied the monitor closely.

Lucina seemed to be struggling with herself, yanking her head left and right and kicking her legs about beneath the sheets. It looked as if some invisible entity was holding her down, except her hands were tightly squeezed around her own neck. Her face bore an expression of great stress and fear, hinting to the thought that she was completely aware of what was transpiring.

"What's she doing?" asked Ike, squinting his eyes in an attempt to get a clearer picture.

"She appears to be strangling herself," replied R.O.B. unfazed.

"WHAT?!" shouted Falcon in shock.

Indeed, if it were not for the black and white contrast of the monitor, the Smashers would have noticed Lucina's face changing to a very unnatural color. Her cheeks began puffing out, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head like someone was squeezing every last breath of air out of her.

"Well don't just stand there, sound the alarm!" cried Ike.

"I already tried," replied R.O.B. monotonously. "The security system in the mansion appears to be malfunctioning. I do not understand why."

Ike gritted his teeth as he glanced back at the helpless girl on the screen. Of all the times for the security system to break down, why did it have to be now? It was all too convenient for it to be a mere coincidence.

He had to admit he was rather annoyed with how calmly R.O.B. was taking all of this.

"That leaves us with plan B," muttered Ike. "Falcon-"

But when he looked the side, the F-Zero racer was no longer standing in the room.

"He's making his way there now," said R.O.B. as he pointed to a monitor displaying one of the mansions halls. Captain Falcon was sprinting as fast as his legs could take him, which was pretty fast since he was one of the speediest runners in the Smash Bros.

"Oh for crying out loud," said Ike, drawing his sword and dashing out of the room after his fellow Smasher.

R.O.B. did not watch the swordsman leave, but kept his gaze fixed on Lucina's room. He couldn't understand how a monster could have gotten into the mansion without him noticing. He knew very well that it wasn't Lucina who was strangling herself, for no human brain could push the body to such limits without coming to a stop. No, something much darker was at large here, and whatever it was, it wanted Lucina dead.

* * *

Lucina attempted to kick and roll herself off the bed, but something was holding her down around her neck. When the creature initially pounced, she barely had any time to react, for the spiderlike monster had descended from the ceiling like a hawk. Before she could comprehend what was going on, her ears were filled with an eerie humming sound, and the next thing she knew a large black hand had landed around her neck, squeezing her with such force that it nearly snapped her spine on contact. She tried reaching for her Falchion, but the force of the creature was too much, and she had no choice but to try and pry this thing off of her with her own hands. The hand of the creature itself was as cold as ice, freezing her fingers at the touch. Any attempts at calling for help were only silenced because her vocal chords had been forcefully compressed. Her mouth just fell open with no words escaping, not even a scream.

"_Someone, anyone,_" she thought. "_Help me…_"

The door to the room suddenly burst open and Captain Falcon dashed to her side. Just as he had seen in the security room, Lucina's hands were still firmly grasped around her neck as if she were strangling herself.

There appeared to be no monster in the room.

"Lucina, snap out of it!" shouted Falcon as he grabbed her hands, trying to pry them off her neck.

Lucina kicked back at him, knocking him onto the floor while she continued to wrestle with herself aggressively. Falcon quickly jumped to his feet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Okay, you leave me with no choice," he said. "Don't hate me for this!"

Falcon leapt onto her bed so that he was sitting on top of her stomach, holding her body down with his weight. He then grabbed both of her hands and tried pulling them off of her neck.

"Hang in there!" he cried. "And don't die on me!"

Lucina could feel the icy grip of the monster easing up. She was able to get some quick breaths in as she yanked the hand off of her, which was enough to utter a cry for help. She pulled and pulled and slowly but surely she could feel the grip of the creature loosening. With one final effort, she cried out and used all her strength to pry herself free from the clutches of the creature, sending it flying high into the ceiling where it molded back into the shadows. The humming sound from before began to fill the room again and immediately thereafter she was enveloped in a brilliant white light.

Her eyes shot open.

The first thing she was saw was Captain Falcon sitting on top of her, panting heavily and sweating. His eyes were closed, but he had her arms pinned down to either corner of the bed. She realized that she too was panting hard, her heart rate skyrocketing to speeds that were definitely not normal. The two friends were locked in that position for a few seconds, Falcon too worn out to do anything, and Lucina too bewildered to comprehend what just happened.

"Um… Captain Falcon?" was all she said before breaking out into a series of coughing fits.

Falcon's eyes opened at the sound of her voice.

"You're… alive," he replied between breaths.

Lucina caught herself, inhaling deeply and exhaling just like normal. She didn't know why, but small tears quickly began to form in her eyes, streaming down her face in perfectly thin lines. She looked down, away from the face of the man who saved her.

"Thank you."

Captain Falcon gave a smug smirk, though on the inside, he felt like crying as well. Had he arrived a few seconds too late, well, let's just say he would have been crying for other reasons.

"Any time," he said.

They stayed in that position for a few moments trying to catch their breaths. Whatever doubts Falcon had about Lucina's dreams certainly were gone by this point. He was actually pretty content playing the hero for a change. Although admittedly, he may have been enjoying the position he was in a little _too_ much.

"Um, you can get off me now Captain Falcon," muttered Lucina embarrassingly.

"Oh, right sorry," replied Falcon.

But just as he was about to get off of her, Ike had conveniently ran into the room.

"What is going on in here?" he said.

Falcon still had his hands pinning down Lucina's wrists on the bed, her previously pale cheeks now showing signs of redness, while Falcon retained a sheepish look on his face.

"Uh… This isn't what it looks like."


	8. Villainous Suspicion

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 8: Villainous Suspicion

* * *

After promptly hopping off of Lucina's body, apologizing for the supposedly reckless move, and explaining to Ike numerous times that Falcon wasn't trying to do anything perverted, the F-Zero racer and the mercenary were finally ready to explain what they witnessed from the security room. It seemed however that even they themselves were unsure of what transpired through the lens of the camera. If what R.O.B. was saying was correct, then it looked like Lucina was in more trouble than she realized.

"You were strangling yourself in your sleep," said Ike seriously, "with your bare hands."

Lucina raised her eyebrows in surprise. Sitting upright in her bed, she studied her ice-cold palms under the artificial light of the room.

"My… hands?" she replied.

"We know it sounds crazy but it totally happened," continued Falcon. "You had your hands wrapped around your neck and you looked like you were wrestling with something."

"That can't be." She had a puzzled look on her face. "I was being attacked by some creature. Did you see it?"

Ike glanced at Falcon who shrugged his shoulders.

"There was no one in here except you," he replied. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Lucina couldn't believe what she was hearing. All this time she thought she was being assaulted by demonic creatures from Hell, when in fact she was merely doing harm to herself. She felt the bruises around her neck, wincing in pain ever so slightly.

"Could it be that…" she started. "That the monsters were just an illusion?"

"It could be," replied Ike. "It would explain what happened tonight anyway. The monsters may not be real, but the damage to your body definitely is."

Something had certainly possessed her to drive her to such lengths. As even R.O.B. had stated, it was impossible for the human body to do so much harm to itself without stopping at some point. Even still, the thought of someone strangling themselves to death with their bare hands was ridiculous. Someone or something must have been behind it all.

Despite being saved by Captain Falcon, Lucina hated how she couldn't defend herself against the monster on her own. To lose battle after battle so consistently was a disgrace to being called a wielder of the Falchion. It was embarrassing and, truth be told, a part of her wished the helmet-wearing racer had never saved her in the first place. She wanted to rid herself of these creatures on her own and learn of their origins on her own. What kind of swordsman could she call herself if she couldn't do anything without her friends watching her back?

"So there are two elements at work here," she said, glancing at the Smashers. "One of which enters my dream at night, and the other that takes control of my body."

"It could be one thing responsible for both," replied Ike, "but who knows. We don't even know where these nightmares are coming from let alone what they're trying to do."

"They're trying to kill me," said Lucina with a frown. "Surely you must have deduced at least that by now?"

"Well yeah," replied the swordsman. "But for what purpose? When we spoke to R.O.B. he said that it was near impossible for anything to get into the mansion. Yet some evil presence is certainly around whenever you fall asleep, and whatever it is it's controlling your body and making you hurt yourself. Is there anyone you know of who would do that to you?"

One name did come to mind, but Lucina didn't want to believe it, nor did she want to tell Falcon or Ike anything about it. Her history with the Fell Dragon was something that she mainly kept to herself and only ever talked about with Robin.

She made a mental note to ask the young tactician about any possible ties Grima could have to the nightmares.

"No," she replied, lowering her gaze. "I know no such person."

"Well that's a relief," said Falcon with a smirk. "And here I thought we were going to have another crisis on our hands."

"Um, we kind of do, Falcon," muttered Ike. "Lucina's life is at stake here."

"Hey, I'm just saying, at least we don't have to go around the mansion asking people if they know anything about this."

"_Oh gods, anything but that_," thought Lucina internally. She still couldn't bring herself to explain to the other Smashes what the heck's been going on with her life over the past few days.

"Although, now that I think about it," said Falcon as he put a hand to his chin, "maybe the reason why the barrier doesn't work is because the person responsible for all this is already inside the mansion!"

"And which person would that be?" asked Ike curiously. "The only ones in the mansion are the Smashers, the Hands, and the Waddle Dees."

"Well those Waddle Dees _do_ look suspicious," said Falcon, narrowing his eyes. "They're always giving me creepy stares like I owe them something…"

As a matter of fact, Falcon owed the Waddle Dees a whole month of his time to helping them clean up the mansion after causing a mass flooding in the house from a clogged toilet. There was a lot of water damage, but Master Hand could not afford to postpone the daily matches, thus the Smashers had no choice but to go about their regular lives walking over damp carpets and seeing peeling wallpaper in the halls. That happened some time long before the new tournament had even started.

"Should we start questioning the others?" asked Ike.

"No, there's no need," said Lucina calmly, although internally she was praying for dear life that they wouldn't say anything. "No one in the mansion has anything against me; at least not to this degree."

"That's what you think," replied Falcon, crossing his arms. "There's more than a few sketchy characters roaming the mansion grounds. You just haven't been here long enough to notice them."

"Really? Like who?"

"Hm, let's see…" Falcon began counting on his fingers. "Well first there's Ganondorf, the Lord of Evil himself. No one likes that guy. And he's got some major superiority issues trust me. He's always yelling at me whenever I say anything."

"_I wonder why…_" thought Ike as he rolled his eyes.

"Then there's Bowser, the King of the Koopas. He's a real hard-ass, but not so much of a bad guy after he's had a few drinks. But when he's sober, you better watch out, because that guy's lookin' for nothing but trouble. And when you have a reputation for kidnapping princesses, what kind of image is that supposed to give you anyway? I could stop there but let's keep going. There's King Dedede, but that guy's so clumsy he can't even walk without tripping over his own two feet. Wario's another suspicious character. He's just a greedy guy who only looks out for himself, a real natural with the ladies. And don't even get me started on Robin…"

The swordsmen both looked up in confusion at that last statement.

"What about Robin?" asked Lucina curiously.

"Erm, did I say that out loud?" replied Falcon.

Ike cleared his throat rather loudly, diverting the girl's attention away from the F-Zero racer.

"I think what Falcon's getting at, Lucina," he said, "is that your nightly terrorizer could very well be someone within the walls of the mansion."

"Wouldn't the security cameras catch someone orchestrating something like that?" she asked.

"The cameras only watch over the public areas of the building; anything can happen behind closed doors."

Lucina pondered on this for a few seconds. Was it possible that one of the villain Smashers could be behind all of this? She didn't recall being on negative terms with any of the mansion's residents, so the thought that one of the Smashers would do this to spite her just didn't seem realistic. To torment her for the mere enjoyment of watching her scream, well, she wouldn't let that go past someone like Ganondorf or Bowser. There were villains in the mansion who were known for being troublemakers after all. When she really thought about it, neither Ganondorf nor Bowser had taken the time to visit her while she was lying wounded the hospital wing.

"Perhaps questioning the villains would be the next step to solving this mystery," she said, her eyebrows furrowed as she continued thinking. "Even if they know nothing about this, surely their knowledge of dark magic and illusions would benefit us in some way?"

"We can do that for you," said Ike reassuringly. "You have to make sure you get your rest whenever you can. These past few nights haven't been good for you I can imagine."

"I volunteer to be Lucina's bodyguard until these nightmares stop," interjected Falcon as he raised a hand.

"What?" replied Lucina. "That isn't necessary, Captain Falcon."

She didn't want the others to think she needed any special attention. She was a Smasher for goodness' sake! Didn't that qualify her as being one of the strongest fighters in the known universe?

Well that's what it said when she signed the contract at least…

"But it is!" replied Falcon, holding up a fist. "You saw what happened tonight! How are you supposed to defend yourself when one of those freaks can brainwash you into attacking, ugh, yourself!? You really want to risk that again?"

"I appreciate the gesture," said the swordswoman sternly, "but I do not need you to act as my 'bodyguard'. So long as I have my sword, those creatures will not be able to defeat me."

"Lucina," said Ike with a small sigh, "I think Falcon has a point. It's been three nights in a row where you've been attacked in your sleep. If someone was nearby to help you or to even wake you up, it would be much safer than just relying on yourself. What if you can't get to your sword in time?"

"It won't be like this again," she said seriously. "I'll be ready for it next time. I'll stay up every night until we determine what's causing these nightmares to occur."

"That's crazy!" replied Falcon. "You can't stay up all night! How can you expect to fight when you're tired? Not to mention, there's still the weekly brawls you have to participate in!"

"I'll make it work," she said, closing her eyes. "I just need to be able to endure this one day at a time. But for now, no bodyguard. I need you two to get as much information as you can on what the villains might know about this. And try to be inconspicuous about it; I don't want the others questioning me about this matter. The sooner we put an end to all of this, the sooner we can all have a good night's sleep."

Falcon was about to say something in objection, but before he knew it, she had slid into the blankets, rolled towards the wall, and pulled the sheets over her head.

"Don't be like this, Lucina," said Ike with concern. "We want to help you out as much as we can."

Despite his efforts, the swordswoman did not budge from her position. Even Falcon was starting to get annoyed at this point.

"Okay, you wanna be that way? Fine!" he said. "But don't think that just because you want it like this means we're just going to turn our heads! R.O.B.'s got this place under surveillance, so all he has to do is give me a call and I'll be gunnin' it over here whether you like it or not!"

Still, she did not sway, and tried breathing deeply in order to simulate the act of falling asleep. After about a minute of trying to talk to her, the two Smashers eventually called it quits and turned off the light before exiting the room. As they left, Lucina suddenly regretted dismissing Falcon's offer, but did not have the heart to say anything back to them. She ended up lying in her bed for quite a while before falling asleep, and she didn't plan on waking up until at least midmorning.

After closing the door gently, the two friends met in the hallway just outside the hospital wing.

"So now what?" asked Falcon seriously. "She pretty much just kicked us out of her room for no reason."

"She's probably tired," replied Ike, although he honestly had no idea why she would turn away from them in such a stressful time. "She's missed sleep for the past few days. You'd be cranky too if you had to go through what she did."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't just tell my friends to screw off like that," responded Falcon with a frown.

"Well, we'll make do with what we have. The first thing we should do is meet back with R.O.B. in the security room to tell him what happened. After that, I guess we can turn in for the night. We can meet at lunchtime tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I really need to get some sleep."

"You're telling me. Let's just get this over with so we can go to bed. That robot's probably watching us right now anyways."

The two made their way back up the hall and towards the other side of the mansion where the security room was. Along the way, they passed by Little Mac, who was on his way to the training room for his daily exercises. When he asked about why Ike and Falcon were up so early, they told him they were volunteering for security duty in order to assist R.O.B. with his job. The young boxer completely understood, but he also asked why he had heard footsteps running past his door earlier in the night. To cover their motives, Ike stated that the noise was caused by himself and Falcon dashing to one of the rooms in order to inspect a camera there. It came as a surprise to both of them however, when Little Mac explained that he did not hear two, but three sets of footsteps outside his room at different points in the evening.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I didn't realize how long the conversation between Lucina, Falcon, and Ike would take, thus, the stuff that I originally planned for this chapter will be pushed to the next one. Thank you to my reviewers for their continued support. Has your favorite Smash Bros. character appeared in this story yet? If not, I'll try my best to fit them in somewhere!


	9. Ike's Dilemma

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 9: Ike's Dilemma

* * *

When Falcon and Ike had asked R.O.B. about this mysterious third character that Little Mac mentioned wandering the mansion, the robot didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about. From the time Ike had initially left the security room to the time he returned, the Robotic Operating Buddy had not seen anyone roaming the halls (with the exception of a particular short boxer of course). Nothing ever slipped past R.O.B.'s watchful gaze, as he was perfectly capable of analyzing multiple monitors simultaneously. Thus, the two confused Smashers had no choice but to conclude that Little Mac was mistaken, which was a fair assumption considering he didn't exactly witness anyone walking past his room in the night.

R.O.B had taken note of everything that transpired in Lucina's room, but oddly enough he could not figure out what would force the girl to hurt herself so badly. No creature that he knew of possessed such awesome mind-controlling powers, and even if one did exist there was no way it would have been able to penetrate the barrier of the mansion.

Despite R.O.B.'s questions as to what on earth could have caused such a ruckus, Falcon and Ike were bound by their word to Lucina and did their best to come up with an excuse, stating that she had been a "real heavy sleepwalker lately" and so on. R.O.B. was hesitant to accept such an outlandish response after clearly seeing something paranormal was occurring on screen, but he wasn't willing to dig any further either knowing full well that his companions were hiding something from him. He made sure to store the footage of Lucina's attack on herself somewhere safe in the far reaches of his memory banks.

By the time the two Smashers had returned to their rooms for the night (or the morning for everyone else), it was already 6AM. The sun was barely climbing over the horizon.

Monday morning was one of the fastest mornings Captain Falcon had ever experienced in his life since he more or less slept through it all. He kept having dreams about Lucina putting her hands around her neck, or utilizing some sort of rope in order to do the job. The supposedly scary dreams would quickly erase themselves and be replaced with more bizarre scenarios that dreams normally transform in to. For example, there was an instance where Lucina's bed was strapped to the top of his Blue Falcon while he was racing down the legendary tracks of Mute City, while at the same time R.O.B. was sitting in the backseat (the car didn't even have a backseat) watching some cheesy Horror flick about a deranged serial killer with claws for a right hand.

Nevertheless, Falcon's tiredness level was overwhelming to even himself. When he got up and dressed for the rest of the day, he made a mental note not to mention any of this crap to Ike.

The F-Zero racer made his way down the large stairs of the mansion and towards the dining room for breakfast, which was actually lunch since it was around noon at the time. All the while he was thinking about Lucina, wondering if she would be okay on her own. His train of thought came to a halt when he opened the grand doors and entered the room, his nostrils instantly filling with the crispy aroma of cooking hamburgers and hotdogs.

"Well, look who's finally awake!" said a cheery Pit, sitting down at the large dining table with Palutena, Pac-Man and Villager. Villager gave Falcon a happy wave while biting into an unusually black hotdog bun, while Pac-Man gave a wink, along with a series of energetic pixelated sounds.

"You guys won't believe the night I had," replied Falcon with a dramatic arm-stretch. "Man, something smells good in here."

Waddle Dees were bustling up and down the room collecting plates and other utensils left by Smashers who had previously eaten lunch. Among the four Smashers at the table, there were still a few others scattered about such as Toon Link, Charizard, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Princess Peach. Bowser Jr., Iggy, Larry, and Lemmy were sitting in a cluster midway down the long table snickering about something, while further down at the end, Ike was sitting next to Ness, who was sitting across from Rosalina. A lone Waddle Dee suddenly approached Falcon with a plate over his head, offering the cooked food to the racer generously.

"Oh, don't tell me," said Falcon with a frown. "Game and Watch is cooking today."

Of course, this was pretty much a given since both the hotdog and hamburger on the plate were both completely black, as well as two-dimensional. Falcon cocked his head to the side slightly, watching the thin items become slimmer with his angle of view.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," said Pit as he downed his hamburger in one bite.

"It's light as well," chimed Palutena with a smile. "Really easy on the hips. Don't you think so Pit?"

"Erm, of course Lady Palutena!" replied the angel, his cheeks turning a slight red.

Now, normally the Waddle Dees would be in charge of cooking meals for the Smashers. They were pretty good at it, and no one ever really complained (except Wario, arguing that portions never got distributed evenly). If, however, a Smasher was feeling up to the task, they would be more than welcome to cook for their fellow mansion residents. And just as Falcon suspected, various beeping noises could be heard from the kitchen, hinting that Mr. Game and Watch was humming some sort of 8-bit tune while he worked. He was probably wearing that dorky chef hat as well.

"Aw man," moaned Falcon. "Now I have to eat like fifty burgers in order for it to feel like one!"

He reluctantly accepted the plate from the Waddle Dee and carried it across the room to where Ike, Ness, and Rosalina were sitting. Pac-Man just shrugged his shoulders and continued scarfing down plate after plate nonchalantly.

Along Falcon's stroll, Iggy thought it would be hilarious to pull a prank, and naturally stuck his foot out in order to trip the F-Zero racer.

"Whoa!" cried Falcon as he stumbled across the carpeted floor. He nearly dropped his food in the process! "Hey watch it you little prick, or you're gonna be seeing stars till next Tuesday!"

The Koopa kids just replied with obnoxious laughter, mocking Captain Falcon by childishly mimicking his trademark Falcon Punch. Falcon was perfectly prepared to shove a Falcon Kick up their asses, but Ike hollered for him to come over.

"Don't bother with them," said the mercenary. "They're just kids."

"Not to mention _Bowser's_ kids," commented Ness as he chewed on his 2D hotdog. "You don't want to get involved with _him_."

"I hate being shown up like that…" spat Falcon, sitting down next to Rosalina.

"The stars granted me a reading last night," hummed Rosalina melodically as she fed part of a 2D burger to her golden Luma, which was sitting in the middle of the table. "They said that those who are normally light-hearted will be burdened by a tragic ordeal."

The Luma squeaked with joy as the delicious food entered its "mouth" (well, it was kind of just… molding into its body like water to a sponge). Falcon reached over and grabbed a black bottle of 2D ketchup, squirting its contents onto his meal as he mumbled something under his breath.

"You do seem kind of out of it today, Captain Falcon," said Ness with concern. "What time did you go to bed last night?"

"Hey, I'm not out of it!" protested the racer. "I'm perfectly normal! Just ask Ike!"

The other two Smashers turned to Ike, but he seemed to jump at attention upon eye contact.

"Oh yeah, he's fine," he said casually. "We were up late last night doing… um…"

"Doing?..." asked Ness.

"Doing…" continued Falcon. "…Uh… Parcheesi!"

"What is 'Doing Parcheesi'?" asked Rosalina curiously.

"Uh, I meant we were playing Parcheesi!" replied Falcon. "Yeah! Sunday night is board game night for us. We started a Parcheesi tournament and it takes about twenty games to decide a winner. That's why we were up so late."

Falcon gave a subtly confident wink to Ike, who could only shake his head in disappointment.

"Hey that sounds like fun!" replied Ness. "Could I join your tournament sometime?"

Ike glanced at Falcon, looking for an answer.

"Um. Sure," was all he could come up with.

"This 'Doing Parcheesi' sounds like an interesting engagement," commented Rosalina elegantly. "I too wish to join you on this excursion, if you would kindly accept me."

"Eheh," muttered Falcon with a sheepish smile. "Sure, the more the merrier!"

It seemed that their plan at keeping Lucina's nightmares a secret was already starting to backfire on them. Ike had to keep reminding himself that their main objective was to locate one of the villains and question them about the ghoulish happenings. Unfortunately, the closest thing they had to a villain in the room were the Koopalings, but it was pointless negotiating with them since they never took anything seriously.

Ike was actually surprised that he and Falcon were able to cover themselves with such a ridiculous excuse. It wasn't like Ness to be so gullible either, as the boy was gifted with abnormally strong psychic powers. Rosalina as well had her own fair share of cosmic skills, granting her the ability to manipulate the gravity around various objects in her vicinity, including her own body. They were both indeed two Smashers with very powerful minds, yet they were fooled by this supposed "board game night." Rosalina, much like Lucina and most of the newcomers for the tournament, had already built a strong sense of trust between all the Smashers they talked to.

The next few minutes of conversation were pretty much nothing but small talk. Lucina's condition would pop up occasionally, but of course Falcon and Ike could only pretend they knew nothing of the matter. Apparently Lucina had not said much to any of the Smashers, not even her closer friends. It made Ike feel all the more committed to staying true to his word and not letting her down, especially since she was still tied to that hospital bed. Falcon and Ike could both see in each other's eyes however, that they wanted to talk about their plan of attack against the villains since that was one thing they didn't really go over in the previous night. This wasn't something they could easily discuss with so many Smashers in the room.

The best thing to do was to more or less wait for all the excitement to die down, and more importantly, for that freakin' Luma to stop making so many squeaking sounds.

"I don't understand," said Falcon as he stared at the chubby piece of star meat in front of him. "How can this thing eat when it doesn't even have a mouth?"

The cosmic woman chuckled, while the Luma made a pouty face at Falcon's blunt remark.

"It is indeed a wonderment of nature in itself," replied Rosalina poetically.

"It's kind of creepy if you ask me," muttered Ness. "The Waddle Dees eat food like that too."

Falcon took a long swig from his glass of Sprite, which was thankfully three-dimensional. Ike was too busy munching on the copious amount of 2D burgers on his plate to notice.

"Don't say that to their faces," commented the mercenary, "or you might find yourself in the middle of a brawl."

Suddenly, Falcon spat out all of his soda onto Ness' face in quite the cartoonish manner. The PSI boy didn't even have time to react.

"Aw crap! I almost forgot!" cried Falcon as he got up from his seat and ran towards the exit.

"What's wrong?" called Ike after him.

"I have a match scheduled with Meta Knight this afternoon!" replied Falcon. "I'm not letting that blue puffball beat me again!"

Ike responded with a sigh while Rosalina and Luma giggled in unison. Ness, on the other hand, was trying to get the stickiness out of his hair.

"Why me…" he groaned.

Falcon dashed to the other side of the rom, bypassing all the Smashers along the way. He ended up stopping at the door just as it began to open before him. Wario stepped into the room, his nose whiffing this way and that way at the smell of cooking burgers.

"Ah, 2D barbeque! My favorite!" he said with a toothy grin. He opened his eyes to see Falcon standing in front of him. "Huh? What do you want?"

"Outta my way fatass! Move!" shouted Falcon before darting past the Italian man.

Wario spun around on his heels as the F-Zero racer blew past him, but quickly regained his footing and began chasing after the man.

"Who are you calling a fatass!?" he yelled. "Hey, come back here!"

As the sound of Wario's whining voice disappeared down the halls, the group of Smashers sitting close to the conflict burst into laughter. Ike was just sitting at the other end of the table with a hand over his face.

"_Dammit, Falcon. Why didn't you tell me earlier you had a match today?_" he thought.

"Are you alright, Ike?" asked Rosalina.

The mercenary seemed to jump at attention again.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks."

Not true. As a matter of fact, Ike was feeling pretty annoyed that Falcon never told him about his schedule in the previous night. There were loads of opportunities when the racer could have said something, but the thought must have never occurred to him. This pretty much just set their plan back by a few hours at least. Worst case scenario, Ike was going to have to interrogate these villains all by himself. Thinking about it, he wasn't sure if he felt totally comfortable standing toe to toe with Ganondorf.

"Hey Ike," said Ness all of a sudden. "What do you think happened to Lucina the other night?"

Of course, he was referring to the night when Lucina was attacked by the mirror monster, but none of the other Smashers ever witnessed it. All they saw was Lucina's mangled body strung out across her bed, bleeding intensely and surely on the verge of death. An act such as this could only have been caused by some outside force.

"I don't know," replied Ike, turning his attention away from his friends. "The size of her wounds hinted that she was cut by a sword, but we weren't able to find an assassin anywhere."

"Is it true that her own blade was tainted with blood?" asked Rosalina curiously.

"Yes," replied Ike with some hesitation. "We can't say for certain what caused the damage though. For all we know, someone could have broken into her room and attacked her with her own Falchion."

"But who would do that?" said Ness.

"None of the Smashers would, I can assure you. At least, I hope they wouldn't…"

He closed his eyes to ponder for a bit, but was shaken out of it when he felt a thin hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Samus standing behind him clad in her Zero Suit, who was also accompanied by none other than the Monado-wielder, Shulk.

"May we join you?" asked the bounty huntress casually.

Ike glanced between the two Smashers momentarily. Never in his life had Samus or Shulk approached him to have a friendly "chat." More often than not he found himself pitted in battle against one of the two instead. Samus was never one to talk much anyway. As for Shulk, well, he was more of an acquaintance. Ike was surprised to see Samus walking with _anyone_ since she normally kept to herself.

"Sure, lunch is still on," replied Ike as he gestured to the two seats next to Rosalina.

The two Smashers rounded the table and sat down, Shulk beside Rosalina and Samus beside him. Only, when Samus sat down, an outrageous farting noise erupted from her seat, causing her to flinch and her face to turn pitch red. The Koopalings down the table suddenly burst into laughter, banging their heads and slamming their fists on the dining room table like maniacs. Upon inspection of the seat, Samus noticed that an oversized whoopee cushion had been placed there previously, waiting for an unsuspecting victim to sit down upon it. The bounty huntress' face immediately twisted into pure rage.

"You little shits are DEAD MEAT!" she threatened, clutching the cushion in her fist.

The Koopa kids promptly fled from the room, hollering and hooting the whole way. They may have been troublemakers, but even they knew not to tangle with the unholy wrath of Samus Aran. Other Smashers in the room giggled to themselves or just rolled their eyes at yet another "brilliant" prank headed by Iggy Koopa. Shulk gave a small round of applause at Samus' ability to clear a room.

"Good show!" he said with his posh accent. "For a second there, I'd thought we'd need to call Dr. Mario."

Samus tossed the whoopee cushion on the table, which Luma eventually sat on for fun. Thankfully, the little star wasn't nearly heavy enough to cause the obscene sounds.

"I don't have time for them," she replied sternly. "Right now there are more important matters to discuss."

Ike couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at this; Samus wanting a talk was never good news. Knowing his luck, she was going to question him about the one thing he had been trying to avoid discussing this whole time.

"Ike," she said, taking her seat yet again. "What do you know about Lucina's accident?"

This question caused Ness to look up at the mercenary curiously, but Ike maintained eye contact with Samus. Her eyes were cold, catlike, and pierced him as if she could see right through. Naturally, this made him feel a little uncomfortable, but he held his ground as best as any experienced soldier would.

"Where did this come from all of a sudden?" he asked, because honestly he wasn't sure. Samus was never one to get involved with such affairs. Shulk, on the other hand, Ike knew very well to be another one of Lucina's trusted friends, and would undoubtedly be concerned about the girl's wellbeing.

"I apologize for approaching you like this all of a sudden," she replied, "but I've noticed that you and Falcon have been spending a lot of time with Lucina lately. I figured you of all people would have an idea of what took place in her room that night because Shulk sure as hell doesn't."

The Homs boy shrugged his shoulders at her comment.

"I did talk with her while she was in the hospital wing," he said. "She didn't want to say much about it though. I found it kind of odd considering she's usually pretty open with me."

Ike frowned, but his reaction was more directed at Samus' statement. Had she been watching him from the beginning?

"For someone who makes herself out to be so independent, you sound pretty worried about Lucina," muttered Ike, trying to turn the conversation elsewhere.

"Aren't you?" asked Samus seriously. "An injury like that only leads to the suspicion that we had an intruder the other night."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing," hummed Rosalina as she twirled her fingers over the Luma to entertain it. "Even the smallest of moons can be mistaken for a neighbouring planet."

"That's impossible," scoffed Ike. "I've seen this mansion's security system with my own eyes and have confirmed it with R.O.B. There is absolutely no way anything out there can get into this mansion, so the thought of anyone trying to break in is completely nullified."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that," said Shulk, glancing down the table to make sure other Smashers or Waddle Dees weren't listening to their conversation.

Ike stared at Shulk with a somewhat confused look.

"What do you mean?" asked Ness all of a sudden.

"The Monado gave me a vision last night," said Shulk, closing his eyes. "In it, I saw Lucina, and… she was in trouble."

Ike's arms slowly dropped to the table, startling the star creature. He had forgotten that Shulk was blessed with the ability to see into the future, albeit only for a short time. The visions were always accurate, and always depicted someone dear to him in a time of crisis. If the proper actions were not taken, then the events depicted by the Monado's visions would undoubtedly come true, not matter how severe the situation. Incidentally, the length and intensity of these visions always depended on Shulk's relationship to the person in the visions.

"What kind of trouble?" asked Ike with concern.

"It was hard to tell," replied Shulk, "but from what I could see, she was immobilized… and she was in a lot of pain. There was someone else there, but his back was turned to me."

Ness fidgeted uneasily in his seat whereas Rosalina continued playing with her Luma nonchalantly. Ike paused in silence.

"If we don't do something soon, I'm not sure what's going to happen," said Samus. "I knew something was wrong the moment I brawled her a few days ago. She seemed distracted, and she couldn't fight nearly as well as she normally does in the tournament."

"So you're saying that if things continue on this course," muttered Ike, "the event you saw in your vision will likely take place?"

"Not just likely," replied Shulk. "It will without a doubt unfold itself into our time and become reality. So the sooner we start doing something about it, the sooner we can change the future. This is the power of the Monado."

Ike had no idea what he was talking about, with this constantly referring to the "Monado," but he knew enough to conclude that Shulk indeed spoke the truth. If the situation were to continue on its regular path, Lucina would only end up in more danger than before.

Perhaps the best course of action in this case would be to do the opposite of what Ike was trying to do this whole time.

"_Perhaps I should tell them everything_," he thought. "_I know she said she didn't want anyone else to know yet, but I don't know if I'm willing to take that chance. Any one of these nights could be her last…_"

Ike looked up to see Rosalina, Samus, and Shulk staring at him, waiting for some kind of response. He hated how Rosalina and Ness had both been dragged into this conversation accidentally, but in a mansion where nearly fifty Smashers resided, it was hard enough keeping secrets from anyone. News always travelled fast in these walls, especially thanks to big-mouth Sonic, as well as that sleazy Duck Hunt Dog. After a few moments' hesitation, Ike succumbed to his conscience and finally caved in.

"Okay," he said. "You talked me into it. But what I'm about to tell the four of you, I'd like you to keep just between us. For now at least."

The others nodded in agreement while the Luma pouted for not being counted as one of them. Samus would have preferred it if all of the Smashers were in on Lucina's situation, but for now, she was content with just getting a better idea of the big picture.

"From what I understand, it all started last Friday after Lucina, Falcon, Pikachu and I sat down to watch a scary movie…"

And so, he told them of the first night, when Lucina was supposedly approached by an ominous ghostly being with claws. He told of the second night, where Lucina's "accident" was nothing short of an unidentifiable copycat breaking through her balcony door and cutting her to ribbons. He also mentioned the third night in the security room, what he witnessed from there, and how Lucina described the attack as someone putting cold hands around her neck, attempting to strangle her to death.

As he told his fellow Smashers of the stories, he couldn't help but feel as if he had betrayed his dear friend. She had entrusted him with a duty, and he completely failed to uphold it. Deep down inside Ike knew however, that he was doing the right thing. For he was willing to do whatever it took to keep Lucina away from the scenario depicted in Shulk's horrifying vision.

While explaining the situation to the others, Ike couldn't help but wonder why Lucina would want to keep her nightly attacks a secret in the first place. It wasn't like her to act in such a selfish and isolated manner. His relayed stories to the Smashers made him realize this, and soon the mercenary found himself with a series of questions that even _he_ did not know the answers to.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wanted to give Lucy a break this chapter since she's been through so much crap already. You can expect her to make her return in chapter 10. Do you see why I asked about your favorite characters last chapter? I nailed a good portion of them this chapter and I'll try to give other random characters some spotlight in this story, kind of like what I did to the Koopa Kids and Wario. Thanks for reading the longest chapter in the story thus far and I'll see you next time. Ciao!


	10. Robin Finds a Clue

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 10: Robin Finds a Clue

* * *

It was around 11:00 when Lucina finally awoke from her heavy slumber. She hadn't been visited by any evil creatures since Ike and Falcon left her, but even if she did, she doubted she would have had the energy to deal with them. She was feeling better however, and took note of this when she realized that the sword wounds from before had nearly healed. It was miraculous how something so severe could be undone thanks to some antibiotics… and a little magic. Unfortunately, this boost in her spirit didn't make her feel better for casting her friends off so bluntly like she had done in the previous night. She planned on apologizing to her friends later, but at the same time hoped they were making some progress with their mission.

Dr. Mario had stopped by sometime before lunch to check on her condition. Other than her apparent hungriness, she was feeling like her regular self again. A lone Waddle Dee had wandered into the room with a plate of 2D hamburgers and hotdogs, which the girl accepted gratefully before the servant scurried back to work. After some discussion, the doctor concluded that she was fit to leave her hospital bed and rejoin her fellow Smashers with the daily tournament matches, but suggested staying one extra night "just in case."

He was still dumbfounded however, as to what incident caused her grievous wounds in the first place. She ended up lying to Dr. Mario, stating that it was the cause of some complex sword technique she was trying to practice in her room, hence why the Falchion was stained with so much of her blood. The explanation was believable and not unheard of at all. There was a time the doctor could recall when Link had nearly smashed a hole through the floor of his room when he was messing around with his Megaton Hammer. That incident however, was completely justifiable according to Link; none of the other Smashers really understood the reason why.

Eventually the doctor left Lucina to finish her lunch in peace, and surprisingly, she did not receive any other visits from Smashers until the afternoon. There were the typically concerned ones such as Marth, Luigi, Lucas, and Kirby, which Lucina had to reassure that everything was fine, giving the same excuse that she had given to Dr. Mario. Marth in particular was adamant that there was something she wasn't telling him, but as much as she hated deceiving the Hero-King, she just couldn't bring herself to confess. She wanted to know the truth for herself before saying anything about it to other Smashers.

Eventually everyone left her to her lonesome again, but she was perfectly fine with relaxing in the hospital wing for a few more minutes to reflect on the previous night. She was still wondering what kind of monster could take control of her body so forcefully like that. Her train of thought was soon interrupted when a sudden series of knocks could be heard coming from the door.

"Who is it?" she called from the bed, adjusting her hospital gown to look more presentable.

"It's me, Robin," replied the muffled voice from the other side. "May I come in?"

"Yes," she said with a smile, which the tactician noticed on his way in and couldn't help but return the gesture. He began approaching her bedside, a couple of large books packed together in his arm.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down next to her and putting down the books.

"I'm doing better," she replied as she sat up. "There's no pain at all now; Dr. Mario said that I'll be good after one more night."

"That's good to hear," he said, although he sounded distracted for some reason. "Did you have another nightmare last night?"

Lucina was hesitant to reply. All she could remember was that icy cold hand clutched around her neck, squeezing every last bit of her life's energy from her body. She thought she recalled blacking out, but all she could see was Falcon's helmeted face staring down at her.

"I did," she said. "And it was terrible."

She told him about the hand, for that was the only thing she could place on whatever creature had assaulted her. She also explained that Ike and Falcon had been watching her from the security room, and that the images displayed on the screen were something that none of them had ever seen before.

Had Falcon not shown up when he did, she probably would have died.

"I see," said the young mage, putting a hand to his chin. "So the cameras showed that _you_ were really the one hurting yourself?"

"I was," replied Lucina with a sigh. "But though that may be true, the monster still appeared in my dream. From my perspective, it felt as if the creature was strangling me to death."

"If that's the case, then it also may be safe to assume that you were the one who caused damage to yourself on the first and second night as well. The monsters that appeared in your dreams still differ, however."

"Were you able to find anything?" asked Lucina hopefully, to which Robin couldn't help but smirk. He had been hoping that she would ask him that question.

"That I have," he replied, "but it's something I find very peculiar. I'll show you."

The tactician lifted up one of his heavy books and placed it on his lap, to which Lucina leaned forward in order to get a better view. The book in Robin's hands looked to be in good condition, as if it had not been used recently or at all in its lifetime. She noticed a Pokéball symbol on the cover as he opened it, a distinctive icon she knew related to the mansion's residential Pokémon. What did Pokémon have to do with any of this?

"This may sound a little ridiculous," said Robin, "so you're going to have to humor me for a moment."

Lucina nodded in response, silently wondering what on earth he was getting at.

"I had to scour the mansion's library for any kind of encyclopaedia on mythical creatures," explained the tactician. "It took some time, but based on the description of your first encounter with the creature, I was able to come up with this." He turned to a bookmarked page of the encyclopaedia, stopping on a page referring to a dark purple ghost-type Pokémon. "This is Gengar, also known as the 'Shadow Pokémon,'" said Robin. "In the Pokémon world, it is known for being a practical jokester, often hiding in the shadows of unwary travellers and jumping out to surprise or attack them. Does this look anything like your monster?"

Upon seeing the sample image in the book, Lucina could instantly make the connections. From its beady eyes to its sinister grin, to the sharp claws along its hand, this Pokémon bore a striking resemblance to that of the creature that she saw on the first night. This Gengar, however, looked much less menacing than the one that attacked her and did not look nearly as large or demonic either.

"It's similar," she replied as she studied the picture, "but this can't be true. The creature that I saw was able to speak to me, yet most Pokémon are incapable of such a thing." She felt a small chill run up and down her spine as the creepy words of the entity echoed through her mind again.

"It's possible that this one can talk," explained Robin. "Though not a very common trait, speaking cases have been known to occur with some Psychic, Ghost, and Dark-type Pokémon. The exception to this would be Lucario of course, but he is only able to because of his ability to manipulate aura. Don't worry; I figured the same thing and did a little research on this as well just to be sure."

Well, it wasn't an exact match, but the Gengar in the book and the monster from Lucina's dream both had similar characteristics. Assuming that the first creature was a Pokémon however, what could cause it to attack her out of the blue like that? Also, was it possible that the other two dreams were merely Pokémon trying to pull a few pranks?

"Was the mysterious swordsman a Pokémon as well?" asked Lucina.

"Not at all," replied Robin. "That I can say for sure."

He reached for the other book, a somewhat beat up and torn piece of work. The crest on the front cover looked exactly like a Smash Ball, and there were various slips of paper and sticky notes protruding from a lot of the pages.

"I found this after some digging through the archives," he said. "It contains records of some of the Smash Brothers' most dangerous enemies."

He began flipping through the pages, Lucina watching intently as colorful images of various enemies and items passed by her view. Had she and Robin partaken in the Subspace Emissary some seven years ago, they would have recognized a lot of the monsters such as the Primids, and the R.O.B. clones. There were a series of pages he had to turn to, categorized by a sticky note that read, "FALSE CHARACTERS."

"During the Subspace Emissary," explained Robin, "the Smashers had encountered creatures called 'Shadow Bugs.' The Shadow Bugs could mold themselves into our fellow fighters, adopting the name 'False Characters.' These False Characters could mirror the Smashers' moves and abilities with perfection. They were also known to be stronger, more precise, and less forgiving. It led the Smashers to believe that False Characters were artificial soldiers that were merely tools for Tabuu and his Subspace Army. Lucina, I believe that the creature you encountered on the second night was your False Character."

He stopped on a page that displayed a picture of Marth, although the Altean prince looked terribly sick and had some kind of demonic aura surrounding him. Lucina studied the image with discomfort.

"_It looks just like that other swordsman_," she thought. "_But… why does it still have a face?_"

"After discovering this, I had to wonder," said Robin. "How do a Ghost-type Pokémon and a member of the Subspace Army relate to the nightmares? Well, that I'm still trying to figure out, but the evidence is all here. If my hunches are correct, someone or something is using these entities as a tool to reach out to you. For what purpose, I'm not so sure. But since these two creatures don't seem to have any kind of relationship other than the fact that they are dreams, I can safely conclude that the monsters are not made up from your memories. They are real, or are as real as they would appear in their respective realms. Something out there is drawing them to you, and discovering that clue will ultimately be the next step in solving this mystery."

Robin raised his chin triumphantly, expecting some sort of praise for his magnificent deduction. Lucina noticed this and couldn't help but laugh, temporarily forgetting about her clone troubles.

"Hm? What's so funny?" asked Robin.

"Oh, nothing," replied Lucina with a small giggle. "Your rapid explanations… It reminds me of when we first joined the Super Smash Brothers."

Robin felt like saying something in retaliation, but only ended up smiling at her. That was the first time he had heard her laugh in the entire week.

"You really are your father's daughter," he said warmly.

Lucina's gaze fell away from him, her smile slowly diminishing. She remembered Chrom, the very man who she looked up to during her young life. What would he say if he were to see her now in this hospital bed, trying to decipher where these inner demons were coming from? Her eerie silence caused Robin to speak up again, steering the conversation back on track.

"Anyway I'm glad I was able to keep you entertained," he said, trying to sound cheery. "But jokes aside, I think we might be on to something here."

"I agree," she said, the thought of her father still lingering in the back of her mind. "It looks like I underestimated your research skills. You only had a day and already you were able to find this much information."

"Well take my words lightly," he replied seriously. "This may be the best lead we've had so far, but it's also hard to judge based on descriptions alone. And now you said there's a third entity we need to worry about; some kind of 'hand' creature or however you described it."

"Yes, the… hand creature."

She remembered how helpless she was when the monster attacked, pinning her down to her own bed like a fly in a spider's web. She had to rely on the help of her friends to save her, and even when she had her sword to defend herself it still didn't stop the copycat monster from utterly humiliating her.

She could only imagine the look on her father's face if he were to see her failure now. Chrom wasn't one to be easily disappointed, but Lucina felt he deserved more than to have a daughter like this. Was she being too selfish? She felt like shedding a tear, if only for a split second. Her emotions were immediately interrupted by a warm grasp around her hand.

She looked up to see Robin staring into her eyes, a look of great concern flashing over him. She didn't know what to do, her instincts telling her to just sit still and wait for him to do something. He pushed the books aside, putting another hand underneath hers so that her fingers were encased in a blanket of warmth.

"You're doing your best," said Robin. "And that's all that counts. No matter what happens, Chrom will always be proud of you."

"I know," she replied quietly, averting her eyes from his gaze. "I just wish he was here right now."

Admittedly, a hug from Dad would have been nice after enduring all those hellish dreams. After all, you were never too old to get a hug from Dad.

"He's always with you," said Robin comfortingly. "Just like he was during those dark times…"

That was when Lucina remembered the one missing factor that Robin had not taken into consideration during his deductions. And how foolish she was to overlook something so significant too! She suddenly regained control of her emotions, but did not try to remove her hand from his grasp.

"Robin," she said. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's about the-"

But she was interrupted by the sound of some rather loud knocking coming from the door. The two friends immediately broke free from each other, Robin placing his hands awkwardly on his lap and Lucina putting her hands together, the warmth of Robin's touch still emanating through her palm.

"Who is it?" called Lucina as casually as she could.

The knocking ceased, following by the bellowing voice of a being every Smasher knew all too well.

"It is Master Hand. Open the door, Lucina; there is something that you and I need to discuss."

* * *

Captain Falcon plopped down on the couch of the postgame lobby, removing his trademark helmet and chucking it against the wall. He cursed loudly as he grabbed a water bottle and began chugging its contents. Meanwhile, the replay match between him and Meta Knight was playing on the television screen, video feeds of himself getting utterly destroyed by the Star Warrior looping over several sequences.

Meta Knight soon entered the room as calm and collected as always. His iconic cape was draped around his body nonchalantly. Upon noticing the Star Warrior come in, Falcon had to dive for his helmet, placing it securely back on top of his head before stumbling back over to the couch.

"Screw this shit," he spat, taking another long swig of the bottle. "I thought they nerfed you in the last game!"

Meta Knight rolled his eyes, although it was hard to tell from the mask.

"With every new tournament comes a new strategy," he replied in his deep and mellow voice. "Your tactics still appear unchanged from the previous tourney."

Falcon just continued drinking from the bottle, ignoring Meta Knight's comments. He had just spent the past 20 minutes or so locked in combat with the swordsman. Admittedly, he never thought he'd find himself struggling to keep up with a fighter who wasn't even half his height.

Meta Knight had developed a bit of a reputation for himself during the Brawl tournament not only as being a skilled fighter, but also a wise swordsman bound by honor. Simply put, he would not engage in combat with any foe that was not ready for such engagements. This was part of the reason why he always requested Kirby be given a sword to suck up whenever the two sparred in the training room. That being said, the Star Warrior was still powerful, and many Smashers knew never to underestimate him for his size. Falcon unfortunately had gotten a bit too cocky on the stage after taking out two of Meta Knight's stocks, and ended up losing everything near the end thanks to some aerial maneuvers that he simply could not deal with.

"Tactics my ass," said Falcon. "All you have to do is stay in the air and no one can touch you. Those things should be banned!"

Of course, Falcon was referring to the Star Warrior's wings, but Meta Knight seemed unfazed by his comment.

"If I cannot use my wings, then you should not be allowed to use any of your signature moves," replied Meta Knight. "That is the way of the game. We can either learn to adapt, or fall before its unforgiving rule set."

The F-Zero racer had no idea what the hell he was going on about. All he knew was that he lost, and despite it being fair and square, he hated to accept that.

"Whatever man," spat Falcon. "Don't think that just because you won this time it means that you're better than me."

"I never said that," said Meta Knight calmly. "Now are we going to review the match, or would you rather sit there and spew insults at me?"

"I'm all for that second option to be honest."

"Hm. Well in that case, I shall take my leave. Thank you for the game, Captain Falcon."

With that, Meta Knight turned to leave, shuffling towards the exit like some sort of ghost. Seeing the back of his cape only caused Falcon to stand up in annoyance.

"Hey, I'm not finished with you!" he shouted. "Come back here!"

Meta Knight continued walking, ignoring the racer completely. This alone was quite the impressive feat as not a lot of Smashers had that kind of tolerance with Captain Falcon. After a few seconds, he ended up sitting down in defeat, glancing back up at the terrible replays on the screen. When he looked back at the door, he saw Meta Knight turn around and approach him again.

"Ah, back for more, eh?" snickered Falcon. "Want me to put you in your place again, eh?"

"Actually, I was meaning to ask you something," replied Meta Knight nonchalantly. "Samus approached me the other day and asked if I knew anything about Lucina's 'bad dreams' she's been having."

Falcon's face seemed to turn white at that statement. He suddenly forgot about the awesome insult he was going to throw at the Star Warrior.

"How do you know about that?" he asked seriously.

"Samus mentioned it to me," he said shrugging his shoulders, his armor clanking slightly. "So surely Lucina or someone else must have told her about it."

Falcon paused for a moment trying to backtrack to his conversation with Lucina. From what he understood, no one else in the mansion knew about her problem except him and Ike. Was it possible that Lucina had told Samus about it as well? He couldn't recall those two ever being particularly close.

"Sure, let's go with that," said Falcon dismissively. "What did you want to ask me?"

"I'm not sure now," said Meta Knight as he rubbed the side of his head. "I think your harsh comments have caused me to forget."

"Alright alright, I'm sorry!" replied Falcon, crossing his arms. "Now will you spit it out already?"

The Star Warrior glared at him, his golden eyes piercing the lens of the racer's helmet.

"My question is—provided I have an understanding of what is going on here—how much about these dreams have you been able to prove so far?" he asked.

Falcon seemed rather confused about the Star Warrior's remark. Just how much did Samus tell him when he spoke with her last time?

"We haven't proved anything," said Falcon straightforwardly. "All we know is that Lucina is being visited by monsters in her dreams, and these monsters attack her while she's asleep. The injuries she gets while defending herself carry over when she wakes up, but we found out just the other night that she's been- Hey wait a second! Why am I tell YOU all this?"

Meta Knight closed his eyes, pondering for a few moments before staring back at his collegue.

"Because I might have the answer to your problem," he said calmly. "But that's enough; your explanation has verified my suspicions. I would be more than willing to share this information with you if you so wish."

Falcon hesitated for a moment. He always knew Meta Knight to be a trusted ally, recalling times when the Star Warrior had saved his ass from certain peril in some cases. On the other hand, he was still loyal to Lucina, and wondered if discussing this delicate topic with a third party would be too risky.

In the end, he decided to trust his better judgement.

"I'm all ears," said the F-Zero racer.

"Very well."

And so the Star Warrior told Falcon the tale about the ominous being known as Nightmare, a creature so evil and sinister that it had turned the once peaceful Dream Land into a desolate wasteland. After corrupting the Fountain of Dreams, Nightmare had overwhelmed Planet Popstar, sending its residents into an age of depression and turmoil. Meta Knight mentioned that Nightmare was able to use its power to rid the universe of all dreams, replacing them with nightmares that would torment innocent civilians in their sleep. Had it not been for Kirby and the Star Rod, well, things would have just gone from bad to worse. Even though Nightmare was defeated a long time ago, the happenings with Lucina's dreams seemed to be reminiscent of the entities evil reign.

It was then that Falcon felt sorry for yelling at the swordsman, for it was possible that Meta Knight really _had_ given him the answer he had been searching for this whole time.

* * *

**Long-ass Author's Note:** Thank you to… pokemonrhoades, Aurawarrior13, Meowkerz, Dapper Dee VI, Pitta, Gamerfan64, MahNati, Hahli Nuva, and my anonymous reviewers for their reviews. I'm glad you are enjoying this story, as well to any silent readers who have been following thus far. To the guy/girl who writes about Charizard in his/her reviews, I promise to give the fire lizard more of a prominent role in this story. Last chapter wasn't really fair to you since you've been a dedicated reviewer from the beginning, so be on the look out! While, I'm mentioning characters, I want to make it clear that despite what I said before, there are some characters from SSB that will NOT be appearing in this story. These characters include female Robin, Alph, male Wii Fit Trainer, and the characters from Melee that were cut from Brawl (ie. Roy, Young Link, Pichu, and Mewtwo). Some characters that were cut from Brawl to Smash 4 (like Pokémon Trainer) may not make an appearance either. Also, for the sake of simplicity, Mario and Dr. Mario are the same person, but referred to differently depending on the context. This is true for Samus and Zero Suit Samus as well. Zelda also has the ability to transform into Sheik, unlike Smash Bros. 4 where they are both considered to be separate characters.

Earlier on in this chapter I made a mention about an incident with Link and his Megaton Hammer. If you're interested in learning about what happened, you can check out my short-story, "Lucas' Doll" and find out. It'll be a good scary read for Halloween since this story won't be picking up in the scares until after next chapter at least. Hope you guys enjoyed it; this was my first time writing a real conversation sequence between Robin and Lucina so I hope I got them in character. If not, let me know and I'll do my best to fix it asap. Thanks guys, and I'll catch you next chapter!


	11. Meeting with Master Hand

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 11: Meeting with Master Hand

* * *

"Open the door Lucina; there's something that you and I need to discuss."

Upon hearing the voice of the monstrous floating hand outside of the room, Lucina couldn't help but glance at Robin, who in turn gave her the same worried look. Ever since the nightmarish incidents started, she had been trying her best to avoid contact with Master Hand for fear that he would impose some drastic changes onto her lifestyle. Anyone would normally expect these kinds of changes to be for the better, but Master Hand had a habit for making decisions based on his own personal preferences. To him, everything was just business.

"I'll get it," said Robin hastily as he got up from the bed.

Numerous thoughts began to fill Lucina's head and she wondered what the large disembodied hand planned to talk about with her. His tone of voice from outside did not make her feel any more comfortable to say the least.

The young mage opened the door gently, revealing the floating white glove bobbing monotonously in the air.

"Good afternoon, Master Hand," greeted Robin politely. "How are you today?"

Although it was hard to tell, the larger being seemed rather unfazed by the friendly gesture. He did not expect to run into anyone else in the room besides Lucina.

"Hello, Robin," replied the hand casually. "I'm doing fine thank you. Do you mind if I step in?"

"By all means, sir," said Robin as he bowed his head slightly.

The two walked (well, Master Hand floated like he always does) back to Lucina's side of the room. Along the way, Robin gave the girl a look that didn't seem very reassuring. Lucina did her best to maintain her composure, but deep down inside she was feeling rather anxious.

"How are you doing my dear?" asked Master Hand as he approached the bedside.

Lucina was somewhat taken aback by his sudden casualness. Just outside the door he sounded like he was in a rush or in dire need to see her. Yet now, he was as calm as calm could be.

"I'm doing better," she replied plainly. "Dr. Mario is giving me one more night in the hospital wing before I'm released."

"Ah, good," he said, his constant bobbing still apparent. "I'm surprised at how fast you were beginning to recover considering the severity of your injuries from the other night."

"Yes, Zelda's magic was able to suppress most of the pain," she replied. "My wounds are healing at a quicker pace, but I can't feel a difference."

The hand nodded without saying anything, causing an awkward silence to fill the room for a few seconds. Lucina and Robin exchanged uneasy glances yet again, both of them anticipating Master Hand to say something about the "real" reason why he was here.

"Formalities aside, Lucina," said the hand all of a sudden, "there's something I need to discuss with you." The large white glove slowly turned to Robin. "Privately."

The tactician closed his eyes and nodded.

"As you wish, sir," he replied, collecting his books and making his way out of the room. He gave one last worried look to Lucina before exiting and closing the door behind him.

Lucina looked up at the hand with uncertainty. A part of her wanted to say something in question, to get a better understanding of what this was all about. Another part of her wanted to apologize for causing such a commotion over the last few days. She knew Master Hand was the busiest individual in the mansion and rarely took the time to meet and talk with his Smashers in person. The only times she ever recalled seeing him was when she first joined the company, or during special occasions like the Christmas banquet and New Year's.

It was pretty much an unspoken rule that if Master Hand wanted to speak with a Smasher during business hours, it never meant good news.

"It has come to my attention that there have been a number of incidents revolving around you recently," said the hand straightforwardly. "I have received word from several Smashers that you are having quite the difficult time falling asleep."

And the award for understatement of the year goes to…

"I will do my best to explain everything," said Lucina as confidently as she could. In the back of her mind, she was wondering just how severe the rumors about her had become, but she discarded the thoughts for now. If there was anyone who should be informed on the truth about the nightmares, it was Master Hand.

And thus, like she did with Captain Falcon, Ike, and Robin, Lucina told Master Hand about the incidents that began happening as of last Friday night. As she was explaining the details of the monsters in her dreams, she made sure not to mention any of the theories that Robin had stated to her previously, such as the Gengar or the False Character. She wanted Master Hand to make his own deductions based on the scenarios. And since he himself represented some sort of "godlike" figure to the Smashers, surely he would have the one and only solution to her supernatural predicament.

As she concluded her explanation, she noticed the hand angle himself toward the floor, simulating the portrayal of a human being who was deep in thought.

"Lucina," he said with a sigh, "I expected something better from an honest Smasher like you."

Lucina raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"I beg your pardon, sir?" she replied.

The hand looked back up at her, and like always she could not tell what he was thinking or what he was about to say because of the fact that he had no face.

"Do you really expect me to believe that the reason why you are in this bed with stab wounds is because you were attacked by monsters in your dreams?" he asked.

This statement alone was exactly the reason why she was so hesitant to tell the other Smashers about her problem in the first place. Who in the right mind would believe such nonsensical drabble that's clearly something ripped right out of a Freddy Krueger movie?

"I can't explain it in any other way," she replied, somewhat disheartened. "The monsters have appeared in my sleep every night for the past three days, and I fear that they are going to show up again tonight and probably for the nights following."

"Maybe you shouldn't watch so many scary movies."

She wasn't sure if she was to take that sentence as an insult, but she held her tongue regardless.

"The thing is, Lucina," continued Master Hand, "I have reason to believe that the culprit behind these attacks is not your 'boogey man.' Last night, the security camera planted in this room caught you on tape trying to hurt yourself."

Lucina was certainly surprised to hear that coming from Master Hand. Did Falcon and Ike go against their word?

"That wasn't me though," she protested. "My body was being controlled by one of the monsters."

"That's a load of baloney," he scoffed. "Even if there was an evil presence on the mansion grounds, the barrier surrounding the property would have detected it while it was passing through. The barrier has never been broken once since it was deployed a few years ago."

"I understand that the evidence is not in my favor," she replied as strongly as she could. "But I don't know how else to explain it. I'm innocent, and if I can't find some way to deal with these midnight occurrences, then I fear that I may fall asleep one of these nights never to wake up again."

The hand pondered silently on this for a few moments before coming up with a response.

"I still stand by my points," he said. "These monsters you're seeing at night are likely a result of some traumatic ordeal that stupid movie put you through. The fact is that you were the one caught trying to strangle yourself last night, and I'll bet you any money that it was also you who is responsible for your slash wounds two nights ago. Honestly, if this is just your way of trying to get attention, then I'm afraid I will have to take matters into my own hand. I can't afford to have you forfeiting matches in the tournament because you can't control your urges."

Lucina was trying her best to remain calm, but she couldn't help but feel a small spark of irritation build up inside her.

"I can assure you I'm not trying to get anyone's attention," she replied seriously. "I just want my life to go back to the way it was before."

"Well then let's start making that change, shall we?"

The hand began to glow, causing a strange blue aura to surround Lucina's Falchion, which was sitting upright against the other bed. The sword began floating in the air and vibrating momentarily before disappearing completely into some kind of void.

"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked anxiously.

"We're going to have ourselves a little experiment," said the hand seriously. "Today, I'm going to take away your sword. If you can't seem to go another night without putting your hands around your neck, I'm going to put restraints on you. These restraints will progressively get more and more intense for each subsequent night you try to hurt yourself. If I have to put a straitjacket on you by the end of this week, then so help me I will."

"I'm not crazy!" she protested. "And if you take away my sword, you're only going to put me in more danger!"

"More danger than what caused you to end up in this hospital bed?" he replied. "I don't think so. At least this way you can still partake in the tournament. I have ordered the Waddle Dees to remove the weapons rack that you keep in your room just to be on the safe side. If you need to grab a sword for the match, you can ask for permission from R.O.B. or one of the servants to retrieve one from the armory, but you _must_ return it afterwards immediately. Hopefully, this new system will help keep you in check by the time you're done recovering from whatever mental roadblock you keep butting up against. It's too bad we don't have any real psychiatrists in the roster…"

Lucina could only shake her head in dismay. She couldn't believe how insane Master Hand's decisions were, and better yet, how he himself did not see how crazy his temporary solution was. She was expecting something bad the moment the hand came to knock on her door, but she didn't expect something of this magnitude. Now, not only was she expected to just "get over" these bizarre nightmares, but she was also supposed to do it without her weapon. What was he going to impose next, turning her dorm room into a padded cell as if this mansion was some sort of insane asylum?

She ended up pleading to the hand for several minutes on the grounds that he was misjudging the situation entirely and that even if his assumptions were her real problem, they were definitely the wrong way to go about resolving it. The hand was persistent however, and refused to waver from his decision, stating again and again that she was letting her imagination get the best of her. The poor girl found herself backed up into a corner with no way out other than to reluctantly comply with the plan Master Hand had set forth for her.

She really wished she had a friend by her side to help her stand up against her superior like the trustworthy Robin, the loyal Ike, or even that airhead Captain Falcon.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mansion…

* * *

Ike and Shulk were wandering down the halls, making their way to the cursed dorm room of who was probably the one and only Smasher they feared the most. After lunchtime, the mercenary and the Homs had joined forces in their attempts to interrogate the mansion's villains. The process itself was quite tedious to say the least. Nothing in their training as swordsmen would have prepared them to face the wrath of one known as Ganondorf.

Earlier in the day they had spotted King Dedede in the game room along with Waddle Doo, Fox, and Mario playing a game of foosball, while an upbeat remix of the Kirby's Dreamland theme was playing in the background. The king was reluctant to meet with them outside in the hall, but fortunately Yoshi had been passing by just in time to take his place in the game. After confirming that the coast was clear, Ike began questioning Dedede about anything he knew regarding dreams.

Despite his reputation as a villain, Dedede was pretty compliant with the swordsmen and gave his best opinion on the matter. He didn't seem to know much about dreams coming to life, but he did make mention about a specific villain known as "Nightmare" who was notorious for making bad dreams a reality for its victims. Of course, it was impossible for Nightmare to be anywhere in the mansion as the barrier protecting the place prevented it from doing so. Not to mention, the Star Rod was securely tucked away at the Fountain of Dreams, which was one of the main sources of power Nightmare used to manifest itself in people's minds. Still, the information was quite useful to the swordsmen, and they made sure to give the king a "thanks" for his help, to which Dedede could only reply, "Yeah whatever, just let me get back to my damn game!"

Shulk and Ike continued on their rounds of the mansion, both of them talking about Lucina's predicament, as well as themselves for a while because incidentally, neither of them knew all that much about each other. Ike learned about Shulk's home world known as the Bionis, and of the evil mechanized forces that threatened it from the Mechonis. He also learned a bit more about the Monado, the sacred sword that Shulk always carried around with him. Apparently, not only was the Monado a powerful weapon and time manipulator, but it also gave Shulk incredible fighting abilities. Shulk, likewise, learned quite a bit about Ike, like how he was the son of a powerful warrior named Greil, and that he helped to lead a band of mercenaries to take on a darker force in his own world. The two found themselves with a lot more in common than they expected and as such, developed a trusting bond of friendship, reminiscent of soldiers that both swordsmen used to fight alongside on the fields of battle.

Eventually, the two came across Bowser, who was found in the garage trying to fix Bowser Jr.'s broken up Clown Car. The Koopa King was pretty tired, covered in oil and dust as expected from anyone who took the time to work on vehicles. But to be fair, "these damn kids never take care of anything by themselves," or so he said anyway. Just like they had done to Dedede, they began questioning Bowser on anything he knew about nightmares being a reality. The Koopa King could only laugh at their questions, say how that sort of thing was impossible and that, "if dreams were real then I'd be sitting on a beach in Hawaii next to Peach and that blasted plumber would be eating pasta through a straw."

In other words, Bowser had no idea what they were talking about, so it was safe to assume that he also did not have anything to do with Lucina's problem.

This series of events eventually led them up to the last villain, who would probably have some useful information for them. The two found themselves outside of Ganondorf's room, hesitantly standing there uneasily as they stared at the clean wood finish of the door.

"This is his room, right?" asked Shulk.

"I think so," replied Ike, although it was kind of obvious when the plaque next to the door clearly read, "Ganondorf." There were still some remnants of an adhesive when Sonic had childishly replaced the "dorf" with a sticker that read, "dork."

"We might as well knock then," said Shulk as he took a step forward, but was stopped when the mercenary put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on," he said. "He could be sleeping in there."

Everyone remembers the last time someone had accidentally woken Ganondorf from his midafternoon nap. Let's just say that poor Pac-Man was seeing stars for the next week or so.

"Well we can't stand out here all day," replied Shulk. "Besides, if he starts getting mad, I'm sure we can outrun him."

It was silly to think that anyone could outrun someone infamously known as the "King of Evil."

"Okay fine," replied Ike before taking a deep breath. "Here it goes."

He approached the door and firmly knocked on it three times. They waited several seconds almost until a full minute had gone by, but there was no response from the other side. The two swordsmen glanced at each other before Ike waltzed back up to the door to knock again. Just as he was about to place a fist on the wood however, a low voice emanating from inside of the room caught his attention.

"What business do you have here, heroes?" asked the muffled voice of Ganondorf from the other side.

"We've come to ask you a few questions," replied Shulk calmly. "If you would be so kind as to open the door?"

"No one is to disturb me during this hour," grumbled Ganondorf sternly. "I thought I made that clear to you all."

"We understand that," said Ike. "But what we have to ask you is very important."

"Does it have anything to do with me, the tournament, or the Triforce?"

"Well… No, not really."

"Then I kindly ask that you remove yourselves from my presence. Also, don't scuff the welcome mat."

Ike and Shulk glanced down at their feet to see a brown mat in front of the door with the words "GET LOST" imprinted on it.

"He doesn't entertain very often does he," mumbled Shulk as he looked back up at his companion.

Ike was hoping that it wouldn't have to come to him explaining Lucina's situation to Ganondorf, but if the Gerudo King was not going to let up, then it seemed that he really didn't have a choice. Dedede and Bowser were easier to talk to, but Ganondorf, well, he was going to take a bit more convincing.

"It's about Lucina," said Ike through the wooden frame of the door. "She thinks she's being attacked by evil spirits in her sleep. We thought that you might know something about it."

There was a slight pause before Ganondorf made any kind of reply.

"Who on Din's green earth is Lucina?" was all he said.

Admittedly, Ganondorf was not very good with remembering names, especially when it came to people he didn't particularly care about. Incidentally, this set of people made up about 98% of the entire roster, but no one dared to mention anything about it anyway. He was familiar with the Smashers who he had worked with over the past decade or so, but he was still getting used to newcomers like Lucina and Shulk. First impressions didn't really matter with Ganondorf either since he more or less hated everyone equally.

"She's the one who's been in the hospital wing for the past few days now," replied Shulk. "You know, blue hair, has a sword, kind of looks like Marth."

"Oh right… Lucina," said Ganondorf under his breath. "She's supposed to be a twin sibling to Marth is she not?"

"…Not even close," muttered Ike. "But that's besides the point. Listen, we need to talk. Lucina's been having these reoccurring dreams lately where she's being attacked by monsters. The reason why she ended up in the hospital wing in the first place was because she woke up with several slash wounds on her body given to her by one of the creatures she encountered. We think there might be some kind of evil presence behind it, so we were wondering if there was some way you'd be able to assist us."

A series of locks and tumblers could soon be heard clicking and clacking from the other side before the door finally opened, revealing a menacing Ganondorf in his usual dark attire. The large man stood tall, intimidating both of the swordsmen for a few seconds.

"Now why, in the name of Nayru, would I want to help you?" asked Ganondorf with a frown.

Ike and Shulk both looked at each other and nodded firmly.

"Because if you don't," replied Shulk, "she could die."

The dark lord put a hand to his chin, partly out of amusement and partly because he was trying to decide what he wanted to do. Truth be told, he was all for witnessing the pain and struggles of worthless mortals be it physically, mentally, or spiritually. On the other hand, perhaps assisting these good heroes with their heroic deeds and such could help build him a better reputation around the mansion? Why, if Ganondorf was one of the people responsible for saving poor Lucina's life, the Smashers would _have_ to give him more respect! Even that boneheaded Captain Falcon would have to think twice before getting in his way.

Ganondorf may have been evil, but he was also a king. He couldn't help but think how great life would be if people started treating him as such. To be both feared and respected was a status that he had only attained half of.

"Alright heroes," said the Gerudo King with a sinister smile. "Let's talk."

He faded back into the darkness of his room, beckoning for the two swordsmen to follow him. They were a little uneasy at first, as no one had ever entered into Ganon's lair before. Still, they held their ground (as well as their breath) and went in, maintaining a high guard no matter what. As anyone would expect, Ganondorf's room was mostly dark, the only light sources in the room being various candles that were scattered all over the place from the floor, to the shelves, to the tables. Various books were piled everywhere, as well as Hylian cloths, and magic mirrors, while specific items in the room such as a cauldron and his signature sword sat idly on the side.

It wasn't the cleanest room in the mansion, but it was home all the same.

Ganondorf gestured for the two Smashers to sit down at a round table that had a crystal ball on it, though it seemed to be covered by a violet rag. Despite his general attitude towards everything, Ganondorf was quite the respectable host, and even offered some Gerudo crackers to the two Smashers. They declined however, just to be on the safe side.

Discussions about the dreams soon followed thereafter. Again, Ike and Shulk explained how Lucina had been having reoccurring nightmares about monsters trying to kill her in her sleep. They did their best to describe the creatures just as she had done before, but none of them seemed interesting to the King of Evil until they got to the third monster. Oddly enough, this creature had less of a background than the other two, but there were a few key details that Ganondorf was able to pick up on that garnered his attention.

Firstly, the creature had somehow descended onto Lucina from her ceiling, though she couldn't get a good view of it due to the large hand that had found its way around her neck. And that was another thing: The hand. This was the only real detail Ike could recall Lucina ever talking about regarding the third night. Ganondorf made it apparent that perhaps the reason why she couldn't see the creature except for its hand was because the creature's entire body was made up of nothing else _but_ the hand, similar to how Master Hand was all that his name implied. At this of course, Shulk and Ike were kind of confused, for neither of them had ever seen a creature like that before except Master Hand and his brother, Crazy Hand. It was at that moment when Ganondorf reached for a book under the table, flipping through to the pages until stopping on a bookmarked segment. He began analyzing the page, putting a hand to his chin as he skimmed over the words while Shulk and Ike just sat in silence. After a few minutes, the Gerudo pulled the rag off of the crystal ball, which began shining brightly in the room.

"Did Lucina's monster look like this?" he asked.

Upon closer inspection of the crystal ball, the Smashers noticed that in the center of it was the image of a disembodied black hand. The hand had claws for nails, and appeared to be crawling through the suspended atmosphere like some kind of spider.

"What is it?" asked Shulk.

"A minion that only I can control in the land of Hyrule," replied Ganondorf calmly. "Its purpose is to act as a guard, seeking out trespassers on my land and removing them from the premises. They are cold-blooded hunters that will never eat or sleep. They are called Wallmasters."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just want to say a few quick words before I end this chapter.

Firstly, I had originally much more written for this chapter, like a scene with Falcon and Robin, but I stopped when I realized how long this was getting. The cut section will be pushed to the next chapter, which is a bummer because I wanted the next chapter to be the start of the fourth encounter. Looks like we're going to have to wait for one more update before the nightmares return.

Secondly, if there's anyone in the crowd who suffers or has suffered from some kind of mental disorder or has gone through some kind of mentally traumatizing event in their life, I hope that Master Hand's comments did not offend you. I realized after writing this that I might be tugging on some people's emotions, and even I myself know someone who has suffered through something similar in their life. So again, if you took offense to this, I am sorry; I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings or make them feel bad in any way. I'm just trying to write a story.

Finally, with November now upon us, unfortunately my updates for this story may not be as consistent as they were before. I will try to get the usual once-a-week updates out to you guys, but if you don't see anything from me for like two weeks after this, do not fret; I will not abandon this story. For more information on this, please check my profile page. Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!


	12. Friends

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 12: Friends

* * *

Captain Falcon made his way the hospital wing with his fists clenched unusually tightly. He didn't stop to talk to anyone he passed along the way, but just kept on trekking through the halls like a man with a mission. He just continued mumbling to himself, "Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare," as if not saying the name would cause him to forget it. He was very thankful for the information that Meta Knight had supplied him with, and the Star Warrior made it clear that he would stay out of his business unless things got out of hand. This of course made Falcon all the more eager to return to Lucina as fast as he could without looking suspicious.

By now he had forgotten all about the original plan with Ike.

As he entered the hallway of the hospital wing, he noticed Robin up against the side of Lucina's door with his ear against it. Falcon soon found himself going from a fast walk to a speedy run as he approached the tactician.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Shh!" Robin replied, glaring at the racer as he tried to focus on Master Hand's conversation.

Falcon came up to the young mage with hands on his hips and a look of disappointment on his face, although on the inside he was snickering.

"Can't go a day without wanting a piece of her, huh?" he said obnoxiously. "You should learn to control those animal instincts of yours."

"Master Hand is in there," replied Robin, ignoring the racer's comment. "I can't hear what they're talking about though."

"What!" said Falcon quietly before he leaned down and put his head up against the door as well.

The two Smashers ended up standing there for several minutes staring at each other and listening intently for what was going on in Lucina's hospital room. Master Hand's voice could be heard, but it was muffled beyond belief due to how far into the room they were. Lucina's voice could barely be heard at all, but Falcon could tell that the conversation they were having was not a very pleasant one.

"How long have you been standing here?" asked Falcon curiously, his helmeted ear still on the door.

"Roughly five minutes or so," replied Robin casually. "We were talking in her room earlier but Master Hand interrupted us."

"_Damn right you were interrupted you little slime ball_," thought Falcon internally, but retained a blank expression on his face.

"I'm not sure what he wanted to talk about," continued the mage, "but from the sound of it, it can't be good."

"You're telling me. Master Hand never leaves his office unless it's really important."

"It would be smart for us to keep our heads low then," said Robin as he glanced up, trying to make out a few more words. "The last thing we need is for him to be on our tails over something like this."

"He doesn't scare me." Falcon stood tall and crossed his arms. "And speak for yourself; I don't have a tail."

Robin gave him a queer look before returning to his eavesdropping. Falcon just ended up leaning against the wall since he could barely hear anything coming from the room anyway. Plus, he didn't want Robin to think he was trying to assist him.

The two Smashers stood in the hall and listened intently for quite some time. Half the time, Falcon thought he was picking up some key words in the conversation, but putting it all together didn't really make any sense. He constantly glanced at Robin who had his eyes closed as he tried to concentrate. If another Smasher just happened to walk by, they would have looked oddly suspicious. And if R.O.B. was watching them, hopefully he wouldn't say anything to Master Hand. It's not like they were disturbing anyone anyway; they both just really cared about Lucina.

As for who cared about her more, well, that was something Falcon was willing to debate over.

"So are you and Lucina old friends or something?" asked Falcon all of a sudden.

The question kind of took Robin off guard. Admittedly, Falcon had no idea who Robin was or what his life was like before joining the Smash Bros. It was a regular problem he encountered when it came to the newcomers. He of course wanted to get to know Lucina better the moment he set his eyes on her (but that was for a different reason entirely), whereas the other newcomers took a bit more time for him to get used to. The one thing he did notice when he first met Robin, however, was how unusually close he and Lucina were upon becoming permanent residents of the mansion. Sure, it was natural for members of the same universe to hang out consistently with each other (at least for the first few months while everything was being settled) but Lucina in particular wasn't close to most of the roster. She was kind and well-liked, but her presence mostly went unnoticed during social events.

"Old friends?" replied Robin. "I suppose you could say that."

Lucina's small circle of friends typically revolved around the rest of the Fire Emblem crew. There was Ike, who, though a bit serious and gullible at times, was initially very helpful in getting her settled with the mansion customs like the weekly game nights or the holiday gatherings. Then there was Marth, a Smasher who recently rose in popularity due to the idol image he represented towards Lucina. He was as kind and trusting as Lucina was, and just about as elegant with a blade as well. Finally, there was Robin, a mysterious young man who usually kept to himself, but was willing to open up to people who he shared similar interests with. Any other friends Lucina had such as Shulk kind of developed over time due to either constant meet ups in team battles or just reoccurring friendly conversations.

In contrast, Falcon was kind of the man in the middle. He wasn't particularly close to Lucina in any way, but was more of an acquaintance of sorts. He admired her for her looks and general attitude, as it was nice to have a girl around the mansion who "wasn't a cold-hearted beast like a certain bounty hunter." Of course, this was just Falcon's speculation.

In truth, the original point of his scheduled movie nights was to help him get to know Lucina better. All of the Smashers knew Captain Falcon to be quite the ladies' man, but his attempts at picking up chicks usually ended up in flops, mainly because most of the girls in the mansion were princesses (there was even a goddess now; good luck with that one). Ever since Lucina became a victim to these apparent nightmares, however, Falcon could feel himself wanting to get closer to her more than ever before. It really did sadden him to see her like this. Surely a girl as polite and beautiful as her deserved more than what that asshole (err, hand) of a boss was telling her.

"So that's it?" asked Falcon, trying not to sound like he cared too much. "There's nothing between you two?"

"What do you mean?" replied Robin, looking up at him curiously.

"You're both just friends and nothing more. Or am I missing something here?"

"Um… We're friends, yeah." He paused momentarily. "Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

"Oh, you know," said Falcon, followed by an overly dramatic laugh while he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "No reason, just curious!"

He could feel his inner conscious Falcon Punching his mind for giving such a stupid response. Another side of him, however, was quite glad to hear that Robin and Lucina were just friends.

"Lucina and I have fought alongside each other many a time in the past," said Robin, regaining his composure. "We synchronize quite well together on the battlefield, especially since she's a melee fighter while I prefer to attack from a range."

It seemed that Robin was trying to steer the conversation away from something more personal, but the fact that he mentioned himself and Lucina working well together still didn't sit easily with Falcon.

"I bet you do," replied the racer through grinded teeth.

"We usually hang out during the off hours," continued Robin casually. "Most of the time it's just her, Shulk and I, but Marth sometimes joins us on occasion."

This was all news to Falcon; he never did bother to investigate what Lucina did during her free time.

"What do you guys do?" he asked curiously.

"Usually just talk about stuff," replied Robin. "You know, the tournament, life here in the mansion, other Smashers, whatever really."

"Oh great," muttered Falcon with a frown. "You're all part of a little gossip circle."

"It's not as bad as you think. Why, she's even said a few things about you."

Now Falcon was starting to get _really_ interested in where this was going.

"What does she say?" he asked, trying not to sound concerned at all (where in actuality it was the complete opposite).

"She thinks you're a lot of fun to be around," replied Robin with a smile. "You're the 'life of the party', so to speak."

Falcon couldn't help but grin stupidly as he imagined Lucina telling him this herself. He could picture himself standing there at the edge of a tall cliff overlooking a shining endless sea, his signature scarf majestically blowing in the wind and his abnormally huge muscles shimmering brightly under the rays of the setting sun. His overly manly and overly hairy chest puffed out from the tattered confinements of his tight white shirt, while his finely-toned legs stood firmly planted in the luscious grass. And who should be standing by his side but the beautiful Lady Lucina, who had her long blue hair down loose and fluttering elegantly in the wind. She was dressed in a clean white dress, which showed off her robust figure quite nicely, and she had her feminine arms wrapped around Falcon, her delicate fingers caressing his… chest. As the doves flew over the horizon, cooing ever so melodically as birds do, she leaned up and whispered seductively into his ear, "You're the life of the party," (however that works) followed by a small peck on the cheek and a cute giggle. Falcon just stood there with his chin held high, his arm around her perfectly curvy waist, not even caring to notice that Robin was at the bottom of the cliff, broken and beaten by the rolling waves and vast amount of sharp rocks and carnivorous fish, all the while calling the racer's name to come and rescue him.

"Falcon," said Robin, crouched on the ground by Lucina's door. "Falcon. Falcon!"

Captain Falcon suddenly jumped at attention, having been shaken free from his wonderful fantasy. He realized that the mage had been trying to talk to him this whole time.

"Huh, wha-?" he replied. "Oh whoops. Must've been daydreaming, eheh."

"Um, right. Anyway, if you're just going to stand there and not listen, would you mind doing me a favor and return these books to the library?"

Robin gestured to the two large books on the floor behind him. Of course, these were the same books that he had presented to Lucina just earlier in order to explain his findings.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Falcon all of a sudden. "Were you able to find anything in the library?"

Robin nodded his head.

"As a matter of fact, I did," he said confidently, although he didn't sound nearly as enthusiastic as he did when he told Lucina about it. "I have a theory that explains the happenings behind the first two monsters Lucina encountered in her dreams. I'm currently in the middle of trying to determine a motive."

Falcon shrugged his shoulders, pretending that he wasn't nearly as impressed as he really was with Robin's apparent progress.

"Oh, well that's good," he said casually. "Ugh, I mean, what a coincidence! I also have a theory as to what might be causing these nightmares!"

Robin raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"Oh really?" he asked, somewhat doubtful about the whole thing. "Forgive my skepticism, but I find it odd how you managed to find the time to look in to such affairs when you spent your whole night in the security room."

"Just call me 'Superman.'" Falcon raised his chin up high, though Robin still wasn't buying it. Regardless, the tactician decided to humor him in hopes that his reasoning could get him a new lead on the whole mystery.

"Well, let's hear it then," said Robin as he stood up, crossing his arms and directing his full attention at the racer.

"Huh?" replied Falcon with a blank look.

"Your theory. You said you had a theory."

"Uhh," stuttered Falcon as he tried to come up with a response. Truth be told, he wasn't really sure how he was supposed to explain it. All he knew was that Nightmare was the bad guy they were after, but how all this was supposed to tie into Lucina's misfortune he wasn't quite sure. After a few seconds of standing there awkwardly and debating whether or not he should just make a break for it, the racer ended up saying, "Um, you tell me yours first!"

"Very well," replied Robin nonchalantly as he picked up one of the books on the ground. He began to tell Captain Falcon everything he had told Lucina prior, from the ghostly Pokémon Gengar to the creepy monsters known as False Characters. There really wasn't much to explain, but Robin found himself mentioning a few things over and over again due to Falcon's inability to pay attention. Still, the racer did his best to listen closely, and he even found himself nodding his head a few times as he finally began piecing the puzzle together.

Indeed, Robin's hypothesis was quite the solid contender.

"Makes sense," commented Falcon at the end of the tactician's explanation. "But Gengar, really? Wouldn't a more 'nightmarey' Pokémon have something to do with it? Like, I don't know… Darkrai?"

"My deductions are based on Lucina's descriptions and Lucina's descriptions alone," said Robin. "But it's completely possible that Darkrai could in fact be the one orchestrating this entire event."

"Well yeah, I mean it's possible for _anyone_ to be behind these nightmares, isn't it?"

"So your theory," replied Robin, somewhat annoyed by that last statement. "Would you care to share it with me?"

Falcon could feel the words dancing on the edge of his tongue, but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to say anything. He ended up just standing there and stuttering for a few seconds before Lucina's door finally opened, the great being known as Master Hand making his exit.

"You may now go and see Lucina if you wish," said Master Hand casually. "I have work to attend to."

Falcon raised his hand to say something in objection, but Robin jumped ahead of him.

"Would it be pointless for us to ask what you two talked about?" asked Robin seriously.

"I will not disclose any part of the discussion that took place in that room," said Master Hand as he began floating down the hall and around the corner. "However, Lucina is under no obligation to keep secrets from you."

Falcon and Robin exchanged glances with each other before darting into the room. They saw Lucina sitting upright in her bed and staring at her sheets, a very troubled look on her face.

"Lucina, is everything okay?" asked Robin with concern as he flew to her bedside. Falcon could feel his blood boiling at the sudden action, but he let it slide seeing as how Lucina was so distressed.

"It's… gotten worse," she replied as she continued staring, her eyes focused on nothingness. Falcon stood in front of her and began waving a hand to try and get a reaction, but she remained motionless. "Master Hand has taken away my sword. He… He thinks that I've been doing this to myself." She glanced down her shirt, acknowledging the various bandages wrapped around her body. "He's proposed a new plan to help get me through this."

"By taking your sword?" said Falcon. "That's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard! How can he expect you to defend yourself now?"

"He doesn't expect anything from me," she said depressingly. "He just wants this to stop."

"We want it to stop too, Lucina," said Robin. "But I'm afraid I have to agree with Falcon on this. When you had Falchion you at least stood a fighting chance, but he's taken away the only crutch you had to lean on. Unless we can determine what's causing these nightmares, you're going to keep having them, and going into a battle unarmed is suicide."

"I don't know what to do now. Maybe I should just… I should just leave."

Falcon's eyes went wide as she said those last words.

"What!? Leave!? What do you mean leave!?" he said.

"I mean leave forever," she replied seriously. "I could resign from the Super Smash Brothers… and return to Ylisse. That way all of you wouldn't have to bear my burdens."

"That's not the answer, Lucina," said Robin sternly. "And you know it isn't."

She glanced at him, a terrible look of uncertainty filling her eyes.

"I…"

"You're not like this," continued Robin. "You're a strong and brave fighter who has slain many a foe in the past. Remember who you are, and remember where you come from. If Chrom were to walk in through that door, do you think he would want to see his daughter sitting here and sobbing because some giant disembodied hand took her sword away?"

Truth be told, if Chrom _were _to walk in and see Lucina in such a depressed state, he'd more than likely fly to her side and comfort her in the unexplainable way that only fathers can.

"Robin…" she said.

"The Lucina I know isn't one to admit defeat so easily," continued Robin with a nod. "She is a natural born fighter, and would sooner risk her life saving the ones she cares about than to just surrender to the forces of darkness." The mage glanced at Falcon, gesturing for him to help him out here. Falcon was more dumbstruck at how effective Robin was at handling Lucina's emotional side, but the racer got the message and jumped in just in time.

"He's right," said Falcon calmly. "It's not like you to just throw in the towel. Like, remember that time you and I were in a team battle against Donkey Kong and Bowser? We were losing so bad during the match, but we kept fighting together and we pushed ourselves as far as we could go! And we ended up winning the Sudden Death right when we thought it was all going to be over!"

Lucina did remember that match quite clearly as it was one of the closest games she had ever participated in. Just as Falcon said, they were losing for the first few minutes, being behind by a whole two stocks. Fortunately, they never gave up, and continued laying on the pressure, delivering a perfectly timed Falcon Punch Shield Breaker combo onto both foes. Falcon's reaction after that match was priceless, and she distinctly remembered him picking her up and spinning her around in celebration.

She couldn't help but give a small smile as she recalled the fond memories.

"We're with you to the very end," said Robin, putting a hand on top of hers, "so long as you'll give us that chance."

She stared into Robin's eyes, and then her gaze turned towards Falcon, who stood tall and gave her a confident thumbs-up with a wink. That was when she realized that she wasn't alone in all of this. She had her friends, and they were all doing their best to make sure she could pull through. She felt a sudden warm sensation building up inside her.

"You're right," she said. "Forgive me for acting so reckless. Master Hand's words kind of left me frazzled."

"Take my advice," replied Falcon. "Don't listen to Master Hand. He may run a business, but the guy's got zero interpersonal skills. You can't really blame him though. I mean, if I were a giant bodiless hand, I'd be pretty pissed about my life too."

Lucina couldn't help but giggle at the racer's comment, causing Falcon to chuckle as well. Robin just smiled, as he was more than content with hearing Lucina's laugh again. A sudden knock at the open door caused all of the Smashers to glance in the direction. Ike and Shulk were standing at the room's entrance with surprised looks on their faces.

"Are we interrupting anything?" asked Shulk.

"Not at all," replied Lucina, though she was wondering why Ike and Shulk were together. "Please, come in."

The two swordsmen joined the other Smashers in the room around Lucina's bed. It was actually quite a funny sight. If another Smasher were to walk by and peer in, they'd more than likely wonder what they heck was going on in here.

"Hey Ike!" greeted Captain Falcon. "How was lunch?"

"It was fine," replied the swordsman casually. "It would have been nice if you didn't run off on me like that."

"Oops, sorry. Yeah, I kind of forgot to tell you that-"

"I know. Don't worry because Shulk here was kind enough to volunteer some of his time today."

"Hello!" said the Homs boy cheerfully.

"So now he knows about all of this," muttered Lucina. "Forgive me Shulk for hiding all of this from you. I did not mean it in a bad way."

"Don't worry about it," replied Shulk. "I understand completely. What matters now is that you're here and that we can tell you what we found out about the villains."

"This should be interesting…" said Robin to the side.

The two Smashers explained to the others that basically, Bowser, King Dedede, and Ganondorf didn't have anything to do with the nightmarish happenings. They were more or less clueless as to why anyone's dream would come to life and try to kill them. Oddly enough, Ganondorf proved to be the most useful out of all of them as he was able to give a good explanation on the third creature from Lucina's dream.

Apparently, the "hand" monster that had tried to strangle Lucina in the previous night was none other than a Wallmaster, a creature commonly found guarding dungeons in the Hyrulian realm. It was not trained to attack, but to defend, hunting down unwanted travellers and carrying them to the exits of the dungeons. Why a Wallmaster would appear in Lucina's dream and start choking her to death they still weren't sure about. Nevertheless, the explanation was quite well received since it did not conflict with Robin's own theory, so for the time being they decided to take the King of Evil's words as fact.

Immediately thereafter, Lucina apologized to Falcon and Ike for the harsh attitude she gave them when she last spoke with them, but the two Smashers were fine with it. She reassured them that at the time, she was tired, and just wanted to catch up on the much-needed sleep that she had previously missed. Lucina then told her friends about her meeting with Master Hand and how he had taken her only weapon away from her. She stated that his reasoning behind the seemingly reckless decision had to do with her own safety; however, she was convinced that not having her sword with her was only making the situation more dangerous than it was before. Now she found herself in a bit of a hard place, unsure of how to proceed into the next evening.

Given the current circumstances, the Smashers would not be able to get any further answers until the next day, meaning that Lucina was going to have to go at least one more night of hell. It was a puzzling dilemma, of course, until Robin was able to come up with a temporary "bandage."

"Perhaps one of us should stay here for the night with you in case something goes wrong?" he proposed.

Lucina was hesitant to reply, as whether or not she was comfortable with that plan depended on who was staying.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"It's the best one we've got so far," said Robin reassuringly. "If something does go wrong in the night, at least someone will be here to wake you up from your sleep. Think of it as a kind of failsafe in case another monster decides to show up."

Ike nodded his head in agreement.

"It sounds like a good plan," he said. "I'm all for it if you guys are."

"Are there any objections?"

Eyes glanced from Ike, to Lucina, to Shulk, and then finally to Captain Falcon. No one had said anything, but Falcon really wanted to say something along the lines of, "Only if I get to be the one to stay here!"

"Well, if you're sure this is the right way," commented Lucina, "then I suppose we'll have to go with it."

"The question is," said Ike, "who gets to stay behind? There's only one other bed in here after all."

Falcon immediately raised his hand, a strong look of determination on his face.

"I'm willing to risk my life for her!" he cried. "Ugh, I mean, I'll do it. I've been meaning to give these dream-freaks a piece of my mind."

"With all due respect, Falcon," replied Robin, "I think it would be best if the candidate was either Shulk or I. Both you and Ike lost a lot of sleep last night because of the night watch."

"That's true," said Ike, crossing his arms. "We still need to catch up on our rest. If Master Hand finds out we've been faltering in matches because of sleep loss, he'll have our heads."

"But… But… But…" stuttered the racer. He really couldn't think of a good response to trump Robin's point.

"_Dammit!_" he thought. "_I knew that little bastard was after her this whole time!_"

"So who's it going to be then?" asked Shulk.

"We'll let Lucina decide," replied Robin calmly.

Lucina suddenly felt uneasy with such a decision being thrown at her. She didn't want the Smasher who she didn't pick to think wrongly of her, so she quickly came up with a response that made her decision justifiable, even by Falcon's standards.

"I would be fine if Robin stayed," she said casually. "We've slept together before anyway." She closed her eyes and nodded before realizing how that last sentence came out. "Um, not like that!" Her face started to get a little red with embarrassment and she began frantically waving her hands. "I meant we've spent nights together alongside our allied forces when we travelled Ylisse."

Shulk gave a small smirk while Ike just nodded, understanding what she originally meant to say. Falcon frowned, glancing at Robin whose cheeks were also turning a bit red.

"Ugh, well that settles it then," said Robin, quickly regaining his composure. "I'll spend the night with Lucina… Um, I mean I'll stay here and keep watch over her while she… uh…"

"There's really no better way to word that is there?" chuckled Shulk.

"Okay, well if you're staying here tonight, you better not try anything funny!" said Falcon, giving the mage a glare. "And so help me if anything bad happens to her, you're gonna have to answer to me! You got that?"

Robin put his hands up in defense.

"Easy there, Falcon," he replied. "And don't worry; I understand."

"I mean it! Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Calm down you two," interjected Ike. "This isn't worth killing each other over."

The mage and the racer continued bickering while Lucina just stared at them with a confused look on her face. Ike just put a hand to his head in disappointment while Shulk got a good laugh out of the whole scene.

The Homs boy was soon interrupted, however, when the Monado struck him with a vision.

The scene played through his head in a matter of seconds, but it was enough time for him to analyze the scenario. He could see the room they were standing in, only it was nighttime, and Lucina and Robin were both asleep in their respective beds. A third unidentifiable person soon entered the room and crept silently across the floor. In the figure's hand was a knife, though it was hard to tell which hand the intruder was holding it in. The knife was raised high and plunged deeply into the chest of one of the Smashers lying in the beds, a splash of blood clouding Shulk's view of the attack. He couldn't tell if it was Lucina or Robin who had been so brutally stabbed to death.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you to… pokemonrhoades, Dapper Dee VI, Pitta, Gamerfan64, Varanus K, CavalierShark, Aurawarrior13, Hahli Nuva, Lizardon, MahNati, and crazycarl364 for reviewing, as well as to any other readers who have made it this far. I found it kind of funny how all of my reviewers shared a very similar opinion towards Master Hand. That "jerk" personality was kind of what I was aiming for when I brought him into this story, so I'm glad to see that it worked. The more chapters this story is getting, the harder it is for me to write, mainly because I have to keep track of what every character knows at every point in the story. That's kind of the reason why I brought all five of them together at the end there, just to make sure they were all on the same page. As a side note, chapters 3, 4, and 8 have been updated with less ambiguous titles (for example, chapter 4 has been renamed from "Doubts" to "Samus' Advice"). In other news, I think this chapter is now the longest one, hitting almost 5000 words exact. Also, I had _way_ too much fun writing that paragraph about Captain Falcon's fantasy. Lastly, I kind of pushed the RobinxLucina pairing a bit this chapter, but I'm leaving the door open for Falcina since this story could honestly go either way. Is there a particular pairing you support? Anyways be prepared, because next chapter, the fourth encounter will be upon us… (dun dun DUN)!


	13. The Fourth Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 13: The Fourth Encounter

* * *

By the time Lucina closed her eyes, Robin had already fallen asleep. She had been lying in her bed for almost two hours, her mind a constant rush of thoughts as she wondered what ungodly horror would decide to pay her a visit tonight.

For now, in the darkness of her hospital room, it was safe to assume the worst.

When Shulk told her about his sick and twisted vision, she didn't want to believe it. She knew she had to, however, due to his uncanny ability to accurately foresee the future. Captain Falcon nearly blew a fuse when he heard what the Homs had to say and was fully willing to interrogate every resident of the mansion (including the Waddle Dees) in order to find out who this potential "murderer" could be. It was highly recommended by Shulk that they revise their current plan of having Robin stay in Lucina's room in favor of something more secure, such as moving her to a room that had no windows, or having multiple Smashers guard her while she slept.

Robin of course dismissed such proposals and decided to come up with his own way of remedying the situation. The mage had given Lucina a bell to string around her wrist during the night. Should something unexpected come up, or should she find herself being attacked by one of those monsters just like before, all she had to do was ring the bell, to which Robin would immediately wake up and promptly break her free from her nightmare. There was no doubt in his mind that as long as Lucina was awake, the creatures in her dreams could not attack her. Therefore, the final solution became more of a backup "alarm clock" of sorts, as well as providing the natural safety net of someone else being in the room with her.

Lucina glanced over at the Smasher in the other bed before staring at the small bell on her left wrist. The bell itself was quite the peculiar little thing, resembling the type of jingle bells one would see and hear around Christmas time. Even more interesting was the fact that the bell would not make a sound if she moved her arm around naturally, but the moment she tried shaking her hand about, the chiming was so loud, it could probably be heard from the next room over. This was so demonstrated by Robin when he gave her the bell before bed time. "If you're in trouble, just ring the bell and I'll wake you up," he had said. Indeed, his words were very comforting, but that still didn't change the fact that whether she liked it or not, someone or something was going to show itself tonight.

Lucina began tossing and turning just like she had done in the previous night, occasionally looking over at Robin who seemed to be in a deep sleep. She noticed that he had left his enchanted Levin Sword lying idly on the nightstand between their beds. He had said something to her earlier about borrowing it if she absolutely needed to defend herself from an intruder. He strongly stated, however, that she was only to use it as a last resort, or basically if the bell plan were to fail for some reason. Lucina wasn't very well-versed in magic, but at the end of the day, a sword was just a sword. Being without a weapon of her own really did make her feel crippled, so she was thankful to have a dependable friend like Robin to rely on.

Oddly enough, Captain Falcon was the only one who was so strongly against Robin sleeping in Lucina's room. Truth be told, Lucina wasn't quite sure of the reason, but she figured that it had to do with Falcon's given chemistry with Robin. She knew they weren't particularly close (or even _good_ friends for that matter) but something about the way they talked to each other made her feel a little uneasy. She'd always known Falcon to be the outgoing type who got along with any Smasher who didn't categorize him as one of the "annoying ones." On the other hand, he could also be a jerk sometimes, but his interactions with Ike said otherwise. Those two were a bit of an odd case as well because despite their apparent differences, Ike and Falcon actually got along fairly well with each other. She knew for a fact that they were nowhere near to being close friends either. As the thoughts occurred to her, Lucina wondered if there was anyone who would call him or herself a best friend of Captain Falcon. Perhaps this was the reason why the racer had gone out of his way to ask her to watch a movie with him? For all she knew, the confident and iconic Captain Douglas J. Falcon could very well have been the loneliest resident of Smash Mansion…

Ultimately, all these strings of thoughts were the only thing preventing her from falling asleep. She found herself occasionally glancing at the security camera in the high corner of the room, wondering if R.O.B. was watching them again. The fact that there was someone behind the camera was more or less the saving grace as to why Robin was so confident in his plan. If a mysterious murderer were to show himself, the camera would undoubtedly catch the attacker in the act, to which R.O.B. would activate the mansion's alarm systems, alerting every resident of the intruder's presence. The robot had made sure to test the security system yet again after it seemingly malfunctioned during Lucina's previous struggle with the Wallmaster.

As the clock struck 2 in the morning, Lucina was beginning to wonder when these freaky nightmares were going to occur. She had her eyes closed and kept falling in and out of sleep, but the intrusive thoughts kept on persisting. A part of her just wanted to get it over with since she definitely knew it was coming. But hey, if tonight ended up being the first night in three days where she got a perfect night of sleep, then that would be totally fine with her.

"_Try not to think about it_," she thought. "_Just go to sleep._"

And eventually, she really did fall asleep, if only for a split second. For as soon as she was about doze off, an eerie humming sound coming from the door caused her to bolt upright in her bed. She glanced towards the source, noticing that the door was wide open, and that there was a strange pulsating green light coming from somewhere down the hall and making its way towards the room.

"_That's strange. I thought Robin shut the door before he went to sleep?_"

She glanced at the Smasher in the other bed only to realize in horror that Robin was no longer there. The bed was perfectly made, as if not a single soul had slept in it for quite some time. And naturally, this only meant one thing...

"_It's the dream world again_," she thought. She quickly got a hold of herself and took a deep breath. "_But it's okay. All I have to do is ring the bell._"

But of course, when she went to shake her arm, there was no chiming sound coming from the bell. As a matter of fact, the bell wasn't even attached to her wrist anymore. All that remained was the loose string Robin had used to tie it to her. Lucina began frantically searching the area in and around her bed for the item, all the while dreading the thought of whatever nightmarish creature could possibly be making its way to her room.

Immediately, her thoughts about Shulk's vision, Falcon's attitude, and Robin's plan had more or less gone out the window. At this point, all Lucina wanted was to get out of this nightmare and back into safe reality. And still the ominous creature kept approaching, the eerie lights becoming brighter with each passing second.

"Robin!" shouted Lucina. She began looking about the room for any sign of him. "Robin, where are you!?" The girl jumped out of bed, her bare feet landing on the cold hard floor.

Upon standing up, Lucina noticed that a thick layer of fog had somehow lingered into the room from the hall. This fog, however, remained close to the ground and silently crept across the floor. The white and cloudy matter was high enough for Lucina's feet to be completely hidden by it, but that didn't stop the fact that the continuous humming was getting louder and the continuous light was getting brighter. She braced herself, wondering what on earth she would have to fight now, but not before noticing that Robin's Levin Sword was still on the nightstand. Instinctively, she reached for the jagged weapon, swinging it about a few times to get a feel for its weight. The sword was slightly lighter than the Falchion, but it was also significantly shorter, meaning that she was really going to have to gauge her distance with this new foe.

After readying her blade, she turned towards the door only to come face to face with her new enemy. Truthfully, this monster was the most bizarre thing she had ever come across in her dreams.

The creature's body composed of nothing but a large floating eye, with various strands of some red and stringy substance dangling from various parts of its surface area. As it levitated eerily, the strange humming noise became quite loud, and the source of the green light seemed to be emanating from its center. Also, it was almost impossible to notice that the fog drifting into the room appeared to be coming from the floating eye, descending off the top of its head and seeping onto the floor as if a continuous bucket of water had been dumped on it.

"Begone monster!" shouted Lucina as she swung the Levin Sword aggressively.

The floating eyeball continued to stare at the swordswoman, seemingly unfazed by her apparent threats. The humming noise refused to cease, and Lucina could feel her head start to ache at the nonstop buzzing. She glanced at the camera in the room, wondering if it was possible for R.O.B. to see anything that was going on right now.

That was when the monster struck.

The red and stringy strands began levitating before vibrating violently. Sudden sparks of electricity began surging through the eyeball's body before an electric bolt shot from its center. Lucina quickly reacted and deflected the shot with the sword, but the sheer force of the attack caused her to stumble back a bit.

"_What kind of creature is this?_" she thought to herself as the monster began charging another attack.

The monster reeled back and fired another shot, this time forcing Lucina to summersault into a dodge, the lightning bolt zipping past her and striking her bed as a result. The bed immediately disintegrated into nothingness, leaving no traces of it behind but a pile of ashes. Lucina picked herself up off the ground, holding the sword out in front of her in defense.

"_It attacks with concentrated electricity. One wrong move and I'm done for._"

She charged forward, preparing to execute her signature Shield Breaker attack on the target. The eyeball maneuvered out of the way, using its midair momentum to strike her in the side with one of its whip-like strands. The lash stung like a knife, and was multiplied tenfold due to the fact that Lucina was only dressed in her hospital gown. She suddenly regretted not coming into this night more personally prepared. She put a hand to her side, only to see her palm covered in blood. And still the creeping fog continued to icily roll over her feet.

The floating eye quickly set itself up for a new attack as it began rapidly spinning the red tendons on its body, and amplifying the sound of the humming noise into a whirling buzz saw. The noise was excruciating to the ears as Lucina quickly found herself trying to block her eardrums from the assault. The rapidly spinning wires soon began simulating spinning blades as the creature began approaching her with every intention of cutting her up into little tiny pieces.

"_Not today!_"

The creature sprung forward with a blade, but Lucina was quick enough to block it. The blade was whirling so fast that sparks began to fly as the metal connected, pushing Lucina back against the wall forcefully. She looked up to see the eyeball charging at her again.

Fortunately, she was able to pull off a perfect Counter, deflecting the monster's attack back at it, and sending it into a chaotic frenzy in the air. Lucina squinted as the green light pierced her eyes, but she fought through it and retaliated with a slash of her sword, knocking the creature off balance yet again and sending it spiraling before it landed on the ground. The humming sound began to die down as the creature's eye started spinning around in a dizzy state. Sparks of electricity began shooting off in different directions as it tried to lock onto the swordswoman, forcing Lucina to duck in case of being struck by a stray bolt.

"_I've got to end this now before it gets another chance to attack!_"

Lucina stood tall and held the Levin Sword in front of her, using the magic infused within the blade to absorb the spasmodic lightning bolts. She began to approach the dazed creature, the electric strikes dying down as the monster started regaining control of itself. The eyeball monster only had a few seconds to think before it realized how close Lucina was to it. She quickly reeled back and stabbed the jagged blade into the center of the eye, plunging it so deep that the tip of the sword punctured through the other end of it. The monster began reeling and shrieking in pain as the crimson wires surrounding it began to spasm violently, the humming and buzzing noises now becoming uncomfortably loud. Lucina didn't stop there however, as she grabbed the hilt tightly with both hands and began twisting as hard as she could, pushing the blade deeper and deeper into the eye of the creature, forcing it to cry out even louder.

"Return to the hell from whence you came!" shouted Lucina as blood spurted from the monster's eye onto her face. "And never set foot in my dreams again!"

The monster shrieked and howled, but Lucina did not let up. She continued to push and push with all her might, refusing to show any sign of mercy to the creatures that had been torturing her these past few nights. She closed her eyes and cried, praying that this final attack would save her from the nightmares once and for all.

That is, until she felt someone grab her wrist.

"_Lucina!_"

Lucina's eye shot open and she froze. She was standing in the dark hospital room like before, only the eyeball creature was nowhere to be found. There was no icy fog, eerie green light, or irritating humming sound. There was, however, flashing red lights going off in every room of the mansion, the sound of an alarm signifying that there was indeed an emergency at hand.

She looked down to see that the hilt of the Levin Sword was still in both of her hands, only it was no longer piercing into the core of some hellish nightmare of a monster. No, instead, the blade was plunged deep into the body of someone who was lying in the bed opposite to hers. Robin's bloody hand was clenched tightly around her wrist like some sort of claw. She immediately broke free from his stone grasp, a flood of tears flowing down her cheeks as she constantly screamed, "NO!" The jagged sword stood perfectly straight as it protruded from Robin's abdomen, his face bearing an expression of empty, lifeless emotion.

The bell that he had given Lucina for protection was now lying broken and shattered on the floor.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry.


	14. Meeting in the Laundry Room?

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 14: Meeting in the… Laundry Room?

* * *

"Pause. Rewind. Replay."

Master Hand snapped his large fingers, R.O.B. reacting instantaneously on his command. In the darkness of the security room, the Robotic Operating Buddy fiddled about with the controls, rewinding the recorded tape of the mysterious assault that took place in Lucina's hospital room less than an hour ago.

Apparently, Robin had taken the liberty of sleeping in the same room as the girl without asking for any kind of permission from Master Hand. The giant floating glove watched patiently as he was shown video footage of Lucina getting up from her bed in a somewhat hypnotized state. It was hard to tell what she was feeling or thinking from the grainy image of the camera (weren't they supposed to get new ones installed?), but it was definitely given that her movements were mostly mechanical. Slowly, she stared at the Smasher lying in the bed next to hers, freezing on the spot momentarily before reaching for the short sword on the nightstand and lifting it high into the air. Robin seemed to have woken up two seconds too late, as he soon found himself with his own sword plunged deep into his body.

Lucina looked to have almost lost her balance before she started screaming.

After the alarm had gone off, a group of Waddle Dees were on the scene, as were some other Smashers who just happened to be previously sleeping nearby. The timestamp on the video read around 2:15 in the morning.

"Again," ordered Master Hand as he began rapping his fingers rhythmically in the air.

"Affirmative," replied R.O.B. compliantly. "Your current view count for this video is 6."

"There's no need to keep a count, R.O.B.," said Master Hand seriously. "Just play the video."

And so R.O.B. did, but not once did he dare to question what on earth Lucina was apparently doing. This horrifying event only enforced what R.O.B. was suspecting in the beginning, and that Lucina was starting to lose her mind. First she was sent to the hospital wing due to an "accident" she supposedly had with her sword. Then, in the following night, she was caught on camera trying to strangle herself. Finally, as of last night, she took it upon herself to harm another Smasher almost to the point of death! The video footage didn't lie, but it was confusing to R.O.B. how someone with such a perfect track record could falter so significantly.

"What are we to do with Lucina?" asked R.O.B. seriously. This of course was one of several questions he needed answers for in his memory banks, but he also knew very well that Master Hand was the type of individual who hated being asked too many questions.

The hand was hesitant to reply, as he found himself too engrossed in the creepy video.

"_You_ are to do nothing," he said straightforwardly. "I don't want anyone to come in contact with Lucina. Until we determine what's wrong with her, she is to be considered a danger to us all. She will temporarily be suspended from the tournament until further notice."

* * *

Tuesday morning was probably one of the most depressing mornings any of the Smashers' had ever experienced while living at the mansion. For starters, Robin had become the hospital wing's newest resident, but his condition turned out to be much worse compared to Lucina's. He had suffered some minor sword wounds, as well as a large gash over the middle of his stomach, which would have killed him had help not arrived when it did. Mario just so happened to be one of the first Smashers to investigate and was able to tend to Robin before things got too severe. Lucina had more or less broken up into tears, the rush of guilt and hatred becoming quite overwhelming for her. By the time most of the Smashers had shown up, Lucina was long gone. The girl had mysteriously vanished, though some of the Smashers claimed to have seen her running down the halls, likely getting as far away from the tragedy as she could. She had dripped a trail of blood through the halls of the mansion, pretty much forcing the Waddle Dees to work overtime in order to clean it all up.

Now it was a new day, and the tournament was still up and running. Master Hand had informed the Smashers that both Robin and Lucina had been temporarily excused from the brawls, and that whatever matches were originally scheduled with them would be postponed. This didn't stop most of the Smashers, however, from wondering what _really_ took place in the hospital wing of Monday night. And while this set of Smashers was conversing and discussing this sensitive topic at breakfast, there were a select few tournament participants who avoided meeting in the dining room altogether, preferring to gather in a more secure location.

"Seriously Falcon…" muttered Ike as he shook his head. "This was the best place you could come up with?"

"Hey shut it!" retorted Captain Falcon as he plopped himself down on a pile of dirty clothes. "You know as well as I do that no one ever comes to the laundry room! And the Waddle Dees are only in here once a week!"

Indeed, of all the rooms in the mansion, the laundry room was one of the least visited locations on a daily basis. Captain Falcon had taken the liberty of choosing today's secret meeting room, and naturally brought along Ike, Shulk, and Marth for good measure. Incidentally, there were a few other Smashers who had hastily joined up with them out of curiosity and concern, namely Pit, Luigi, Lucario, and Kirby. It was surprising how they were able to sneak everyone into this small room without any of the others noticing.

The Smashers were seated about in various parts of the cramped area, though admittedly, there was no real place for them to sit. Most of them were either sitting on (or in) piles of random clothes on the floor, while the two Fire Emblem swordsmen were both stationed on some overturned laundry baskets. Lucario was leaning upright against an upturned ironing table, whereas Shulk was actually sitting on top of one of the few washing machines.

You would think that for a mansion with more than fifty residents, Master Hand would have invested in a bigger utility room.

The room itself was pretty dim, the only real source of light being a single lightbulb dangling on a piece of wire in the middle of the ceiling. Interestingly enough, if anyone were to walk in at this moment, the lights from the hall would fully illuminate the entire room. Needless to say that it was hard for any of the Smashers to get a good look at each other, especially for Falcon since he was wearing his crash helmet.

"Enough of this nonsense," said Marth as he kicked some dirty clothes out of his way. "If it's alright with all of you, I'd like to know what's been going on with Lucina as of late."

"Yeah, me too!" chimed Pit, ruffling his feathers to knock some stray overalls off his back.

"Can it, you pixie!" replied Falcon obnoxiously. "This is supposed to be a secret meeting!"

"Poyo! Poyo!" responded Kirby happily, throwing an oversized pair of tighty-whities into the air (definitely Kind Dedede's).

"Not much of a secret now, is it?" muttered Shulk from his perch on the cube-shaped machine.

"Well if people would stop sticking their noses where they don't belong then maybe I'd be able to officially call it that!" said Falcon in annoyance.

"I think he means that everyone in the mansion pretty much knows about Lucina now," said Ike from the side. "We should all be thankful that Robin didn't die."

"You said it," replied Pit with a cheery smile. "I can't imagine how scary that must have been for him."

Falcon just rolled his eyes, but no one took notice of it with it being so dark in the room. He was honestly pretty irritated that Robin was all people wanted to talk about now. They had good reason for doing so, but that still didn't stop it from bothering him.

"We're all thankful for that," said Marth. "But we need answers right now. I've noticed that Lucina has been acting awfully strange since her accident with the Falchion. I've tried approaching her several times on the subject, but I feel like she's just making excuses for me."

"Hmm…" muttered Luigi. "Maybe she-"

"I don't feel comfortable talking about this with these guys," said Falcon to Ike, but it didn't really matter as his voice was clearly audible by everyone in the room. "Lucina told us to keep this all a secret."

"What?" asked Marth in surprise.

"It doesn't matter anymore," replied Ike. "Like Shulk was saying, everyone in the mansion knows about what happened last night. Even if they're not sure what's going on, it won't take them long to figure it out." He paused momentarily. "There are at least a few other Smashers in that dining room who know about her nightmares."

"Okay fine, I'll give you that," said Falcon unenthusiastically. "But does _she_ really need to be here right now?"

The racer gestured towards the pink Pokémon sitting next to Shulk on the washing machine. Jigglypuff had a half-eaten piece of toast in its mouth, with a plate full of delicious breakfast foods like eggs, bacon, hash browns, and beans in front of it.

"Jiggly!" exclaimed the balloon Pokémon in defense.

"_She said she always eats breakfast in the laundry room_," said Lucario telepathically from the side. He seemed to be the only one who wasn't getting all riled up from this crazy conversation.

"Really?" replied Shulk as he stared down at the pink puffball. "Since when?"

"_Since that 'Singing Incident' last year_."

None of the newcomers knew about it, but Jigglypuff had actually been the one responsible for shutting down all activity in the mansion for an entire week during the Brawl tournament. At the time, she had been obsessed with watching online videos of the popular Disney movie, "Frozen," and found herself wanting to sing "Let It Go" just as Queen Elsa had so magnificently demonstrated in the film. Jigglypuff practiced and practiced for three days straight, learning every note, every verse (in Pokémon language of course), more or less everything about the song. Then one day, she decided to perform in front of the entire mansion. Now, all of the Smashers at the time knew about Jigglypuff's most infamous ability, so no one in the right mind would have agreed to listen to something like that. Therefore, the Pokémon had taken it upon herself to get a hold of the mansion's PA system and sing "Let It Go" into the microphone. It goes without saying that every creature within a mile radius with ears fell victim to Jigglypuff's voice (even R.O.B. the robot curiously enough). As punishment for this ridiculous act, the Smashers were given a choice of voting between replacing Jigglypuff with the Sandbag for a month or forcing her to eat breakfast by herself in the laundry room until otherwise stated.

Needless to say, Jigglypuff wasn't particularly happy with the final results.

"Oh yeah, I remember that," said Luigi as he sat obediently in his pile of clothes. "Wasn't that-"

"It's not Jigglypuff, it's the food!" exclaimed Falcon. "Why the hell did you have to bring that in here? None of us have eaten yet!"

Jigglypuff closed her eyes and continued eating nonchalantly, muttering a few words under her breath, but who understands Pokémon nowadays anyway?

"Poyo…" muttered Kirby as he eyed her plate of food in sadness.

Fortunately, Jigglypuff didn't have a cold heart whatsoever, and was more than happy to toss Kirby a few strips of bacon and a hash brown.

"Falcon, there are more important things at stake here," said Ike as he crossed his arms, showing that he had enough willpower to resist something as insignificant as a fried meal.

"Talking about this will get your mind off of the food," chimed Marth. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me everything from the beginning."

"Well don't _you_ sound concerned Mr. 'Fancy Pants,'" said Falcon with a snort. "You must really care _a lot_ about Lucina." He gave the Altean prince a glare from across the room, but Marth seemed rather unfazed.

"Of course I am," he replied casually. "She is my descendent after all."

Falcon tripped over his own words a few times as he tried to come up with a response, but truth be told, that last statement was news to him.

"W-Wahut!?" he spat. "You mean to tell me you're related to her!? Since when?"

"Um… Birth?"

"Falcon," said Ike as he put a hand to his head, "she's been living at the mansion for almost half a year and you're _just_ figuring this out now?"

Falcon seemed somewhat flabbergasted by all of this; his reaction was quite funny to say the least.

"Hang on," he said. "If she's related to you and you're a prince… does that mean…"

"Yes, she is a princess," replied Marth seriously. "But that's not important right now."

"Says you! All this time I've been trying to get to know her better and _now_ you tell me she's a princess?"

"I thought everyone knew that though?"

"I did," replied Shulk as he put up a hand.

"Same here," chimed Pit with a smirk.

"I hate you people…" muttered Falcon as he leaned back in his "seat" and crossed his arms.

"Descendent or not," said Luigi from the side. "All of us still care about-"

"I'll get you up to speed on everything that's been going on then," interrupted Ike, though it was not intentional at all. Truthfully, he didn't even hear the green plumber try to speak up in the first place.

The mercenary began informing all of the Smashers in the room about what's been going on with Lucina ever since she started having weird dreams last Friday night. Apparently, she had been visited by several entities over the course of four days, all of which tried to kill her in her sleep. What was even stranger was the fact that whatever wounds she suffered in the dreams were somehow carrying over into reality when she woke up. No one quite knew how to explain it, and now to make things even more confusing, Lucina had been caught trying to kill Robin in the same night!

"Honestly, we should have just listened to Shulk," said Ike at the end of his explanation. A few of the Smashers turned to the Monado-wielder on the washing machine who gave a sheepish nod. "Had we done our best to prevent what was foreseen, Robin would probably be here with us right now. We won't make the same mistake again."

"Poyo!" exclaimed Kirby as he threw another pair of underwear into the air and caught it again.

"Unbelievable," replied Marth. "So you mean to tell me the reason why she's been acting so strange is because she's in danger?"

"She was afraid to tell anyone about it," said Shulk. "I actually just found out about this yesterday."

"But I don't understand. Why didn't she tell us sooner?"

"She thought that no one would believe her," replied Ike. "I mean, it's easy to believe it now after seeing what's she's been through. But even when she told Falcon and I about it in the beginning, we thought it was a joke."

"Humph," said Falcon with a raised chin. "I always knew she was telling the truth. I just… didn't want you to feel like you were being left out."

"_Interesting_…" muttered Lucario quietly with his eyes closed. "_For the past few days now I've been sensing a darker presence among the Smashers in the mansion. There was another source of aura emanating from somewhere, like a candle in a forest_…"

"That must have been Lucina," said Marth. "If it's true, then it only solidifies the fact that she wasn't fully aware of what she was doing to Robin last night."

"We should go see her," replied Pit worriedly. "Maybe there's something we can do to help?"

"Yeah," chimed Luigi. "Or maybe we could-"

"Master Hand said that no one was to disturb her," replied Shulk. "I think she's locked up in her room right now."

"That poor girl," muttered Marth. "This just isn't fair to her."

All of the Smashers in the laundry room sat there in silence as they contemplated what the best course of action was. In all honesty, they weren't one hundred percent sure where to begin. They found themselves caught between deciding if they should find a way to stop the nightmares, or figure out a way to cheer up Lucina. Chances are she wasn't feeling very well after enduring that horrific event in the hospital room, not to mention that she's more or less been on an emotional roller coaster for the past few days. With Robin being temporality out of the picture, they were going to have a hard time finding the next piece in solving this complex puzzle.

Perhaps a little down time was exactly what Lucina needed in order to get her mind away from all of this madness.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Pit as he patted his fist into his palm. "Let's make her a giant get-well card!"

Kirby raised his hands up in agreement, showering himself with a bunch of dirty clothes, but the other Smashers in the room didn't seem very amused.

"A get-well card, really?" replied Falcon in disappointment. "Where were you when she was lying half-dead in the hospital a few days ago?"

"What, you guys don't like my idea?"

"It's not that we don't like it, Pit," replied Marth reassuringly. "It's just that… we need something a bit more creative than that."

"Aw, well I thought it was a good idea…"

"Jig, Jig, Jigglypuff!" said the pink Pokémon.

"Hey keep it down you cheeseball, I'm trying to think here!" replied Falcon rudely. As a side note, why the hell are Pokémon voices so damn annoying?

"We should make her a trophy for herself," said Ike all of a sudden. "She's been missing out on the tournament because of these nightmares. Maybe a little victory sign would help boost her morale?"

"That kind of makes it look like we're taking pity on her though," replied Shulk.

"Does it?" Ike put a hand to his chin as he tried to imagine how the scenario would play out. All he could imagine was Falcon waltzing up to Lucina's room and presenting her with some half-assed kindergarten papier-mâché monstrosity. "On second thought, let's not do that."

The Smashers went back to thinking and brainstorming an idea. In truth, they were looking for something that represented genuine friendship and caring for their fellow brawler without making it look like they were feeling sorry for her. In actuality, Lucina probably wouldn't mind it either way, but even Falcon had certain standards that he felt he had to meet when he hung around her.

"Hmm," thought Luigi out loud. "What if we-"

"I know!" shouted Falcon suddenly. "Let's all-"

"_Falcon, Luigi's trying to say something_," interjected Lucario.

The racer frowned as he turned to the mustached plumber, who sheepishly averted his gaze upon making eye contact.

"I was going to say," continued the green man. "What if we throw a party for her?"

The Smashers turned to one another, some of them nodding their heads, while a few others mumbled something along the lines of, "Yeah, that could work," or, "I don't see why not." It was a good idea, and it would also be a good opportunity to get the other Smashers involved. Plus, it would be a nice break from all of the mystery-solving. Trying to figure out what the hell was going on was hard enough without Robin to provide support anyway.

"A party!" exclaimed Pit. "That's a great idea, Luigi! We could decorate the mansion, and play games… and think of all the food there would be!"

The white angel began daydreaming about sweet cupcakes and other colorful pastries, causing Kirby's mouth to water at the mere thought of such delicacies.

"Sounds good to me!" chimed Shulk as he gave a thumbs-up. "I think we all could use a little pick-me-up."

"We could do it today," said Marth as he tried to plan out the event in his head. "It's still morning after all. We could spend a few hours getting everything set up and have it all ready by dinner time."

"I think it'll work," replied Ike with a nod. "And if the others can help, then we should be able to get this all done in no time. Of course, anyone who needs to attend to their daily matches can do so, but that shouldn't be too much of a hindrance."

"_I've actually got a match today_," said Lucario. "_But I will do my best to assist whenever I can_."

"Jigglypuff, Jiggly!" exclaimed the balloon Pokémon as she raised a fork triumphantly into the air, which Lucario was able to interpret as, "Count me in too!"

"So that settles it then," said Falcon with a smile as he raised a fist. "We're going to throw Lucina a surprise birthday party!"

"Um, not for her birthday," replied Ike. "It's just a surprise party to make her feel better and to let her know that we're here to support her no matter what."

"Pfft, same thing."

The conversation soon built back up as the Smashers began discussing about the plans for Lucina's party. They didn't know how big it was going to be, but they definitely wanted as many people involved as they could, and there was certainly going to be some form of a cake. It looked like they were going to have to ask Princess Peach for a favor.

In the midst of all of this excitement, however, Lucario's animal-like ears picked up the sound of footsteps making their way towards the laundry room door.

"_Shh! Quiet everybody. Someone's coming_."

The Smashers all froze in the sanctity of the laundry room as the door opened wide. The light coming from the hall illuminated every inch of the cramped room, taking a certain zero-suited bounty huntress by surprise as she peered inside.

"Um…" started Samus awkwardly. "What are you all doing in here?"

Her gaze darted from one Smasher to another. Lucario was lying casually against the upright ironing board in a pile of what appeared to be white undershirts, while Pit and Luigi were both sitting cross-legged in separate piles of darker clothing. The angel also had a few stray pieces of attire hanging from his wings. At the same time, Kirby had somehow made a nest of his own out of various types of underwear, whereas Marth and Ike were both sitting up straight on some laundry baskets. Shulk and Jigglypuff were sitting together on top of the washing machine, along with a finished breakfast plate. Lastly, she noticed Falcon sitting against the dryer on a pile of shirts, with a piece of bright blue undergarment wrapped securely on his helmet. Samus' face turned a pitch red as she recognized the panties on the racer's head as one of her own.

"That's it, Falcon," she said through gritted teeth as she pulled out her arm cannon from seemingly out of nowhere. "You're a dead man."

"Wait Samus! I swear I didn't know these were yours!"

Samus took aim and began charging her signature beam shot, causing the other Smashers in the room to immediately back as far away from the F-Zero racer as they could. Falcon could only stare helplessly into the notorious death-glare of Samus as he waited for the inevitable train of hurt he was about to endure.

"Ahhh… crap."

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**Author's Note:** Just thought I would brighten the mood from the dark and depressing stuff of last chapter. I wanted to bring in some more character interactions as well since last chapter hardly had any dialogue at all. Also, I love how Falcon says his second-last line as if it were any other female Smasher's undies, his actions would be totally justifiable. Did you like my jokes? Like, how everyone was cutting off Luigi, or how Jigglypuff has to eat breakfast in the laundry room every day. That's funny right? Guys? guys…


	15. Falcon Bakes a Cake

It Came from Lucina's Head

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**Author's Note:** Thank you to… CavalierShark, Hahli Nuva, scandihoovians, pokemonrhoades, Varanus K, Pitta, crazycarl364, Dapper Dee VI, MahNati, prowessMaster44, Gamerfan64, Namgum, Flare Hedgehog, MisterGreen, squish13, SonicSpeedster, Aurawarrior11, Bluestorm1990, and realisticFantasy for the reviews on either chapters 13 and 14. To my anonymous reviewers, thank you to randomanon, Frank, Truffles, and Lizardon. Oh, and Lizardon, I think I know the answer to your riddle. ;) This chapter's for you my friend. Anyways, I hope you guys brought a snack or something because this chapter's a big one. I recommend taking a break as soon as you get to the next breakpoint. Enjoy.

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Chapter 15: Falcon Bakes a Cake

* * *

It didn't take long to get everyone organized in the dining room since Pit had managed to track down Sonic after the laundry room meeting. The blue hedgehog ran laps around the entire mansion, relaying the party plans to every Smasher he encountered. Of course, he was given explicit orders _not_ to mention any of this to Master Hand for everybody knew he would not be happy with any of them trying to get in contact with Lucina.

Meanwhile, Ike and Shulk brought everyone up to speed on Lucina's unfortunate situation, removing any and all suspicion about whatever rumors were going around. Most of the Smashers were quite understanding and thereafter felt more than happy to do what they could to help prepare for the party. After all, it was the least they could do considering how distraught Lucina must have been feeling. Unfortunately, Robin was going to have to sit this one out due to being confined to his hospital room, but oddly enough he wasn't the only Smasher to not partake in the joyous event. A few big-name fighters such as Ganondorf, the Koopalings, and even R.O.B. either refused to participate or just did not care enough to bother. Their absence during the setup was replaced, however, when Sonic had somehow managed to convince Crazy Hand to join in on the festivities, saying that, "His job as the left hand is to do the opposite of whatever the right hand is doing," to which Crazy Hand replied, "That's not how that works!" Still, his presence was about as welcome as anyone's considering the Smashers rarely ever got to see him due to how busy he was with organizing the tournament. Surely Master Hand wouldn't get too upset if he were to take a lieu day.

The actual organizing of the party had been brought upon Princess Peach who was notorious for leading these kinds of social events. She was normally the one put in charge of organizing holiday events as well, such as the Christmas banquet, or even Thanksgiving. Captain Falcon, however, made it apparent that he also wanted to be put in charge of leading the event, and naturally requested that he be given an important task to complete. And so, Peach had come up with a "List of To-Do's" as she called it, and subsequently posted a copy of it on the bulletin board outside of the grand ballroom where the party was going to be hosted. She was well aware that not every Smasher would be able to attend due to the daily brawls, so she divvied out the jobs based on whoever was most available during the setup time. For example, since Greninja didn't have a match scheduled for the day, he was in charge of putting up the streamers, along with Pit, Palutena, Rosalina, and Pac-Man. With this system in place, the Smashers were hoping that they would be able to finish preparing in the least amount of time possible without Master Hand noticing something was up. Thankfully, the Waddle Dees were as loyal as they always were, and were willing to lend as much help as they could for Lucina's cause as well.

While most of the Smashers were bustling about trying to get everything set up, Captain Falcon found himself in the kitchen alongside Princess Peach. The princess had gone ahead and made Falcon her own personal assistant for baking the cake, seeing as how Mario was caught between the tournament and Robin's condition. Falcon, of course, was perfectly fine with being given such a significant job.

The kitchen itself was a room that only a handful of Smashers visited on a regular basis. For starters, the place was rather large, containing a large amount of storage units and cupboards for various types of kitchenware. It also came complete with two sinks, a large roaster oven, two stoves, a walk-in freezer, and an equally large refrigerator. It was always kept clean thanks to the Waddle Dees, and this was especially noticeable if one were to glance down at the sparkling tiles lining the floor.

Incidentally, this was the first time Falcon had stepped in the kitchen since the Brawl tournament.

"Thank you so much for volunteering, Captain Falcon," said the pink princess cheerfully as she reached down into the cupboards to search for a large dishpan.

Falcon was leaning against the nearby counter with a white apron wrapped around his racing uniform and a chef hat atop his helmet that said, "Falcon Lunch!"

"Aw, don't mention it," replied Falcon with a grin. "It's the least I could do to help! After all, the cake is the most important part right?"

"You bet it is," said Peach as she stood up with a pile of large silver bowls in her arms. "I'm surprised you wanted to help at all with this though." She placed the bowls on the counter before realizing how that last sentence came out. "I mean, I had no idea baking was one of your hobbies."

Falcon bit his tongue and retained a stupid smile as he tried to come up with an answer. He had told Peach earlier that the reason why he insisted on being a part of the baking team was because he himself was also cook of sorts. Or at least, that's what he told her. Truthfully, Falcon was only making excuses in order to secure himself a spot in the kitchen. He personally wanted to make sure that Lucina's cake was the best cake she's ever tasted.

"Oh yeah!" replied Falcon with a sheepish laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "I used to bake cakes all the time back at the institute. It was uh… used to help hone our… um… hand-eye coordination skills! Eheheh…"

Peach merely gave a smile and dusted her apron off before she began dividing the bowls.

"Oh, well then I'm glad you decided to say something," she replied casually. "There aren't that many Smashers around here who have a passion for baking. I think Kirby might be the only one actually."

Incidentally, most of the Smashers in the mansion did not have much experience cooking food period. The only ones who ever cooked meals regularly included Peach, Kirby, Mr. Game and Watch, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Palutena, and King Dedede. There were a few others like Link and Samus who could make small meals, but if there was ever a time when dinner needed to be handled, usually one of the more experienced Smashers took over. Little did Peach know that Falcon's overall cooking expertise sat somewhere between Honey Nut Cheerios and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

"Good thing I'm here then!" exclaimed Falcon, waltzing over to the large freezer and peering inside. "Okay, so what's the first thing we need? Eggs and milk right?"

"Yep!" replied Peach cheerily. "Only… the eggs and milk are in the fridge, Captain Falcon."

Falcon glanced over at her, noticing that she was retaining her usual happy expression. He was pretty thankful that Peach was one of the few Smashers in the mansion who were actually patient with him.

"Ah, uh, right," said Falcon embarrassingly as he reached into the fridge to pull out the required ingredients.

"We're also going to need flour, sugar, baking soda, and some vinegar. Do you know where those are?"

"Of course I do! They're… uh…"

Falcon then spent the next five minutes or so scrounging through every inch of every cupboard and drawer in an attempt to find the necessary ingredients. Every time Peach would say something, he would interrupt her by saying, "How else am I supposed to learn!?" to which she would reply, "I thought you already knew that!" He eventually came up with everything they needed and soon Peach began whisking away at the mixture of various foods they had acquired.

"Hey, this smells good already!" exclaimed Falcon as he watched Peach's hand mechanically swirl around the bowl.

"We can't eat it yet, silly," replied the princess with a giggle. "We still need the chocolate mix."

"Oh, right."

Falcon reached over the counter and grabbed the box of chocolate mix he had found in the pantry earlier. He had picked this brand himself, thinking that chocolate would be the best thing for Lucina. In all honesty, he had no idea what kind of cake she preferred, but then again, what girl _doesn't_ like the taste of chocolate cake?

"Okay, so now you just throw that in here," said Peach as she continued stirring, "and then we should be ready to put this in the oven in about… Oh, I almost forgot!"

"Huh? What?" replied Falcon as he poured the entire box into the bowl.

"We forgot to preheat the oven! Oh silly, silly me."

"Well that's no big deal is it?" asked Falcon casually. "Lemme see here." The racer waltzed over to the large kitchen oven at the side of the room and began fiddling with the knobs. The indicator on the small screen was coming up as, "ERROR," suggesting that there was a malfunction with the appliance. "What the hell?" muttered Falcon as he tried setting the temperature again, but still the screen came up with the same error. "Hey Peach, I think something's wrong with the stove."

"Really? Let me check." The princess skipped over to the racer's position and tried preheating the oven, but the error was persistent. It seemed that even the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't have that magic touch. "Who used the oven last?"

Falcon put a hand to his chin as he began to recall who had been previously cooking meals in the mansion. Almost immediately, one two-dimensional man in particular came to mind.

"Game and Watch was cooking burgers in here the other day!" exclaimed Falcon.

"Oh, that would explain it then," replied Peach with a sigh.

It was no secret among the Smashers that Mr. Game and Watch was a good cook. However, the 2D man was also notorious for breaking things accidentally and not telling anyone about it until it was too late. Not to mention, this was the fourth time Game and Watch had broken the stove after using it. It really made Falcon wonder exactly what went on in this kitchen when that flat man was at the helm.

"No matter," said Peach with a smile. "The oven is just having a problem starting up. There's more than one way to turn up the heat." She gave Falcon a wink, to which he didn't know how to respond. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Falcon stood there for a moment as he tried to come up with a way to get the oven to turn on. The racer was very familiar with the element of fire, so when the princess gave him a nod, that more or less confirmed what he was thinking the whole time.

"Alright, I'll do it," replied Falcon seriously. "But you better stand back; this could get dangerous."

"What?" asked Peach dumbfounded, but realized what he was doing when she saw his right arm start to glow with flames.

"Falcon…"

"Wait stop! I didn't mean _that_!" cried Peach as she grabbed his arm.

Falcon glanced at her with a queer look on his face.

"What? You mean to tell me you _didn't_ want me to Falcon Punch this hunk of junk back to life?" he asked casually.

"No, not at all," replied Peach. She paused momentarily before chuckling to herself. "Really Captain Falcon, when are you going to learn that you can't solve all of your problems by Falcon Punching them?"

"Hey gimme a break! You didn't exactly give me any hints to work with!"

"I had something much… safer in mind."

The princess turned around and put two fingers to her mouth before executing an ear-shattering whistle. Falcon had to slam his fists against the side of his head in order to block out a mere fraction of the noise, but even that barely helped at all. The whistling was sharp and high-pitched, and probably gave that Duck Hunt Dog a heart attack if he was anywhere in the nearby vicinity. After the pain was over, a dramatic silence befell the kitchen, while Falcon just stood there shaking his head as if it would help get the ringing noise out of his ears.

"What the hell was that for!?" shouted the racer in surprised. "You almost blew my eardrum!"

Suddenly, the sound of stampeding footsteps could be heard approaching the kitchen doors, causing Falcon to grab onto the side of the counter for balance. Peach just stood there nonchalantly and giggled to herself. Soon enough, the sound of the footsteps disappeared, and numerous Smashers could be heard outside yelling at someone to, "Slow down!" and, "Take it easy!" Eventually, the doors of the kitchen burst open, and the Flying Pokémon Charizard flew into the room with a triumphant roar.

"This was your idea!?" cried Falcon as the fiery creature landed gracefully in front of the two Smashers.

Charizard lowered its head as Peach approached it, where she then reached up and petted the top of its head. The Fire Pokémon grunted lowly, but Falcon could have sworn it started purring for a second.

"There's no one better at lighting ovens than Charizard!" said Peach cheerfully. "Isn't that right?"

She began scratching the underside of Charizard's chin, causing the Pokémon to swing its monstrous tail back and forth. Falcon made sure to stand clear for fear of being whipped by a flaming limb.

"A Falcon Punch would have been cooler…" muttered the racer with a pout.

"Charizard, would you be able to help us finish baking Lucina's cake?" asked Peach innocently.

Charizard stood tall and roared, flapping its gigantic wings in approval. Apparently, he was perfectly fine with being rid of his previous balloon-blowing duties with Jigglypuff. He only ended up popping more than he could blow anyway due to his sharp claws.

"Alright!" said Peach excitedly. "But first thing's first. You'll need a uniform if you're going to work in this kitchen." The princess promptly reached up to Falcon's head and plucked his chef hat from its position.

"Hey, he can't wear that!" cried Falcon. "That's mine!"

"Charizard can't wear an apron so this will just have to do."

The pink princess proceeded to lightly placing Captain Falcon's "Falcon Lunch!" hat on top of Charizard's head. The Fire Pokémon seemed quite pleased with its new attire and subsequently gave Falcon a death-glare when he tried to take it back.

"But… but…"

"Okay, now that that's done," continued Peach. "Charizard can you use your Flamethrower attack to start the oven? Pretty please?"

Charizard was more than happy with complying with Peach. No one knew the reason why, but Princess Peach really had a way with sweet-talking Pokémon. Charizard in particular wasn't a Pokémon that easily got along with everyone either. Peach seemed to have this sort of motherly charm on them that was reminiscent of caring trainers from the various Pokémon regions.

Interestingly, the only Pokémon that didn't seemed fazed at all by Peach's attitude was Mewtwo, but he had gone into hiding sometime after the Melee tournament and no one had seen him around since then. According to Crazy Hand, the Psychic Pokémon had taken refuge in a secret room within the basement of the mansion, meditating in hopes that he would eventually awaken as a more powerful being than ever before…

Charizard opened the oven doors and began pouring flames into the appliance. Almost instantaneously, the gas ignited, and the machine roared to life. The indicator on the top of the appliance also read 375 degrees Fahrenheit, which was perfect!

"Thank you, Charizard!" said Peach. "Excellent job!"

Charizard naturally lowered its head again, to which Peach could only respond by petting it warmly. Falcon had his arms crossed and rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Yes, great, wonderful," he said in annoyance. "You can give me the hat back now. Peach and I can handle the rest of this by ourselves."

Charizard gave the racer another glare before bearing an expression of sadness on its face.

"Hey don't talk to him like that!" said Peach. "He just saved us the hassle of replacing the oven! He can stay here and help us for as long as he wants."

Charizard stood tall and began beating its wings in celebration, causing Falcon to fly backwards and slam against the side of the counter.

"Argh… Fine…."

The next few minutes were dedicated to finishing up whatever whisking was left, and pouring the contents of the bowl into the dishpans. They were attempting to go for a double layered cake, with a layer of strawberry icing to line the middle, but of course, they were going to have to wait until later before adding that bit. Incidentally, there seemed to be a bit of cake mix left over after the main portions had been placed in the oven, so Falcon took it upon himself to bring out a cupcake tray and make a small batch of chocolate cupcakes. Eventually, the trio had everything laid out, from icing sugars to whipped creams to sprinkles, and were waiting on the cake to finish baking. Already it was starting to smell delicious, but Falcon was too preoccupied thinking about Lucina to wonder how the cake was going to taste.

He was soon standing next to Peach at the sink cleaning dishes while Charizard sat on the tiled floor licking the mixing spoon.

"You know, Captain Falcon," said Peach as she began drying up a newly washed bowl, "it's really sweet of you and the others to do something like this for Lucina."

Falcon was taken by surprise at this comment and almost dropped a plate on the floor before he caught himself.

"Oh, y-yeah?" he replied, his face getting a bit red.

"Yeah, it really is," continued Peach. "She and the other newcomers are still getting used to the way we do things around here. If you didn't ask us about the party, I don't think any of us would have done anything for her. We all feel bad after what's she's been going through lately."

Falcon didn't really know how to respond. Instead, he kept on washing while several odd thoughts ran through his head, but he decided to keep them to himself. Charizard continued to sit nearby with a content expression on its face.

"I know she doesn't have a lot of friends here in the mansion," said Peach. "And I can't imagine how she must be feeling right now after what happened to Robin. But… I think she's grateful to have someone like you looking out for her."

Falcon bit his lip as he thought about this. In all honesty, he had no idea why he was so adamant about protecting Lucina. Before all of this nightmare crap started, Lucina was nothing more than a regular newcomer who he would occasionally try to get a good look at every now and then. She was a kind and compassionate girl, and Falcon could really appreciate that in a woman, especially since most of the women in the mansion considered him a laughing stock (well, Samus and Zelda did at least). It was only until recently however, when Falcon noticed his own stronger feelings towards the Ylissean princess. It seemed that with each passing night, the he could feel himself wanting to stay more and more by her side, as if he himself possessed the holy shield that would banish all of her intruding demons. It was funny, looking back, how Lucina had merely been some girl that he just wanted to "get with." Now, she was something much more important, but not even Captain Falcon himself could find the words to describe how he truly felt about her.

"We should all be grateful," replied Falcon casually as he continued washing dishes, "that she's still alive."

Peach nodded her head in agreement, accepting the soaking plate from the racer's gloved hand. Just as she was about to reply, a loud "Ping!" broke free from the warm oven, to which she had no choice but to drop her dish cloth.

"Oh! Cake's done!" she said cheerfully. She hurried over to the oven and opened up the door, revealing a shining, chocolaty dessert that smelled like heaven. Charizard immediately got up from its position and glided over to see if the cake came out alright.

"Man, that smells awesome!" exclaimed Falcon as he shut off the water.

Peach put on some oven-mittens and carried one of the pans over to the counter, while Charizard took the other one bare-handed (or bare-clawed, whatever). Falcon then put on some mittens of his own and retrieved the small pan of cupcakes from the oven. Peach then pulled out a Fan (the kind that was used frequently in tournaments until just recently when Master Hand banned them from brawls) and began rapidly fanning the heat away. The cakes soon began to take a solid form and were at just the right temperature to be decorated.

"Alright, now comes the fun part!" said Peach as she began eying the various types of cake decorations they had laid out on the counter. Charizard peered from over the princess' head at the different kinds of sprinkles, colorings, and creams, and wondered where the candles were.

"Well, we're going for strawberry and chocolate right?" replied Falcon. "So…"

The racer grabbed a spoon and the bowl of strawberry cream and began spreading it over the top of the cake. Peach seemed as giddy as a schoolgirl after seeing him take the initiative.

"Okay! I'll decorate the sides with this icing sugar!" She began squeezing the sugary contents of one of white tubes onto the side of the cake, creating a beautiful flower-like pattern. Needless to say, Falcon and Charizard were both impressed, but the Fire Pokémon was somewhat disheartened that there wasn't much he could do in this phase. Of course, it didn't take long for Peach to notice the Pokémon's distress, so she simply said, "Don't worry Charizard, I think you've done enough. Here, have a cupcake!" which Charizard was perfectly fine with accepting.

Eventually, the thin sheet of strawberry had been completely laid down (with two coats no less) and the second layer of cake was ready to be placed on top. Naturally, Peach took over accomplishing this task, which she was able to do in a matter of seconds with the utmost grace and accuracy. From there, the group began on laying down the actual strawberry pieces, along with red sprinkles to match, and another layer of icing sugar. Soon enough, the cake had been fully decorated, and it looked absolutely marvelous! The only thing missing of course (besides candles to Charizard's dismay), was something to be put on top of the cake. After some debate, the group ended up settling with some white icing sugar that was laid down in way so that the message, "To Lucina From All of Your Friends" could clearly be seen at the top. Falcon suggested adding a little heart at the end, which Peach was more than happy to comply with since hearts were kind of her thing anyway.

"Alright gang!" exclaimed Peach. "The cake is officially done!"

"Aw yeah!" cheered Falcon.

Charizard also gave a mighty roar in celebration.

"And perfect timing too!" said Peach. "Look!"

The trio glanced at the large clock sitting close to the ceiling on one of the walls. It was almost 5:00, which would give them just enough time to finish decorating the cupcakes before summoning Lucina.

Just then, Shulk poked his head into the kitchen, noticing the newly finished chocolate cake.

"Hey, something smells good in here!" said the Homs boy.

"Hey, back off Jack!" replied Falcon defensively. "No one gets a bite outta this until we find Lucina!"

Shulk and Peach both laughed while Charizard just sighed a beastly sigh.

"If you say so, Falcon," replied Shulk. "I don't mean to take up much of your time, but I'm just letting you know that everyone else has pretty much finished with their tasks. We're ready to start whenever you are."

"Oh, that reminds me!" said Peach all of a sudden. "Who's going to be the one to get Lucina?"

"Um, that would be me," replied Falcon quickly. "I'll see to it that she makes it here on time." The racer hastily took a cupcake and put it on a small plate along with the icing sugar they had used to write Lucina's message. He then made his way towards the door where Shulk was waiting, but not before throwing off his apron haphazardly. "Oh, thanks again Peach! And you too Charizard! I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Not at all, Captain Falcon!" said Peach cheerfully. "And don't worry about the cake; we'll make sure it gets to the ballroom in time. You better run along now; it's not good to keep a lady waiting!"

Her comment was followed by Charizard's roaring laughter, to which Falcon could only wonder what the hell she was implying in the way she said that last statement. Shulk just shrugged his shoulders and led the way for Falcon down the halls and towards the dorm rooms.

"We'll be in the ballroom hiding in the dark," he whispered. "You just lead her in and we'll handle the rest."

"Gotcha. Thanks Shulk."

Shulk then ran off to rendezvous with the other Smashers.

As Falcon made his way down the halls, he began to wonder how much decorating everyone had done in the ballroom. Truth be told, he didn't know what to expect, but ultimately he couldn't remember the last time the Smashers had thrown a party that sucked. Not to mention, Robin wasn't going to be there. Just thinking about that made the racer unusually giddy for some reason. Falcon was able to maintain control of himself, however, as he soon picked up the icing sugar tube and began squeezing a large heart on top of the cupcake. His plan was to give Lucina the dessert and perhaps talk with her for a bit before making their way to the ballroom. She was probably still shaken up from the events of the previous night, so all Falcon could do was silently pray that they had made the right call with organizing this party.

* * *

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Lucina stared unenthusiastically at her ceiling from her bed. She had been lying there for almost the entire day, her eyes bearing small bags after all of the sleep loss she had suffered from the last night. Multiple thoughts were still rushing through her head as she tried to remember as much as she could.

There's no way it could have all be a lie.

She couldn't stop thinking about Robin. She wondered anxiously how severe his wounds were after she mercilessly delivered a critical blow to his stomach. Of course, at the time, she had no idea she was attacking Robin. All she could remember was seeing a large eyeball staring at her, electrocuting her with elemental attacks. Had it not been for Robin's Levin Sword, she would have been killed for sure, but at what cost? Now Robin was lying dead or dying in the hospital wing, and Lucina was too scared to venture beyond the boundaries of her own room.

After retreating into the sanctity of her dorm room last night, Lucina threw on her signature blue armor and frantically began searching for any kind of weapon. Unfortunately, as Master Hand had previously stated, all of her swords were confiscated from her, even the steel sword she kept behind the bathroom door (not that she would ever think to use it anyway). With no sword to clutch onto, Lucina ended up crying herself to sleep, praying that nothing else would attack her in her dreams. Fortunately for her, the rest of her night was about a normal as anyone else's, but the morning was probably one of the worst she had ever experienced.

Master Hand had put a notice on her door, stating that no one was to come in contact with her until he got some answers. To Master Hand, Lucina had attacked Robin in his sleep, and whether she had malicious intentions or not, he didn't care. All he knew was that Lucina was dangerous and that he wasn't about to subject any of the other Smashers to such a threat. He planned on taking a day away from the tournament this week in order to speak with Lucina and finally get to the bottom of all of this madness. But that of course was the least of Lucina's worries.

Right now, all Lucina wanted to do was to know if Robin was safe. Eventually, she pulled herself to her feet and washed up her face and hair, trying to make herself look at least presentable, before exiting the room. Upon entering the hallway, the smell of something sweet and chocolaty soon filled her nostrils, but the smell was interrupted when she realized the Duck Hunt Duo were standing obediently next to her door. Lucina stared down at them, bearing an expression of neutrality, as if seeing these two animals here was nothing peculiar at all.

"Greetings, Duck Hunt," she said straightforwardly. The Dog sat on the hall floor, but stood tall with its long tongue hanging out. The Duck on its back just sat there idly staring at the wall. "What business do you have here?"

The Dog immediately responded by lifting up a wooden sign from seemingly out of nowhere that read, "Master Hand told us to guard your room and make sure no one went in," in some kind of black marker. The action in itself was quite cartoony, and had Lucina been familiar with the television show, "Looney Tunes," she would have been able to make some sort of connection. Instead, she was kind of taken off guard by the sudden response.

"Well, I'm leaving," she replied honestly. "And if Master Hand has a problem with it, he can talk to _me_ about it."

The Dog put down the sign and raised a different one. This time, the sign said, "He told us to make sure no one went in. He didn't say anything about you leaving."

Lucina gave a small smile at this response. Despite the fact that she and the Duck Hunt Duo were mere acquaintances, it made her feel better knowing that they weren't going to give her a hard time. Little did she know, however, that Duck Hunt couldn't care less about what happened to her and were only letting her go just to spite Master Hand. The Duo kind of had a reputation around the mansion for being troublemakers.

"Thank you, Duck Hunt," said Lucina as she bowed her head and made her way down the hall. "I am in your debt."

She turned the corner and disappeared, not even noticing that the Dog had lifted up another sign that said, "Yeah whatever."

Lucina made her way down the halls, noticing that for late afternoon, the mansion was unusually quiet for some reason. On any normal day, one would be able to hear some form of speaking, or yelling, or even music blasting from one of the rooms, but today, there was nothing but utter silence. The eeriness of it all was starting to make her feel anxious, but still, she trekked onward, taking the shortest route she knew of from one end of the mansion to the next. She could still smell those sweet desserts, but her mind was focused on the task at hand. She did her best to be inconspicuous, as she had no idea what any of the Smashers would say after hearing about last night's incident. The last thing she needed was Master Hand hearing that she had gone directly against his orders, which is why she stuck to the smaller hallways. Incidentally, the only large room she passed through was the foyer, but that room was almost always empty anyway.

Eventually, she found herself in the hospital wing, making her way towards Robin's room, which had previously been her own room just the other night. Oddly enough, the door was already wide open, and when she peered inside, she could see Robin lying in the bed with his eyes closed.

It was hard to tell if he was alive or dead.

Silently, she crept into the room and up to his bedside. Robin was now dressed in the standard hospital gown, and she imagined that there were several strong bandages wrapped securely around his torso. Most importantly, he was breathing slowly, and it looked as if he was asleep. This sight alone somehow managed to bring tears to Lucina's eyes, but she sucked it up and promptly gave the tactician the biggest hug she could muster. Robin was immediately shaken out of his nap.

"Huh? Lucina?" he said in surprise. Lucina backed off and pushed her hair out of her eyes, giving the other Smasher room to sit up straight. It took him some time, and he looked like he was in pain, but Robin forced himself to sit into an upright position. Lucina sat down on a chair near the side of the bed, noticing that the Levin Sword was nowhere to be seen on the nightstand.

"Robin…" she replied, but in all honesty she didn't know what to say. She felt guilty, seeing as how he wouldn't be in this state had she not attacked him last night. Surely he knew that it wasn't entirely her fault?

"Easy there," he said warmly. "I'm the one in the hospital bed, not you."

"All I ask is for your forgiveness," she replied, bowing her head in shame. "I did not mean for any of this to happen."

"I understand." He glanced at the wall on the other side of the room. "I should have known better than to do something so reckless. It was foolish of me to think everything would be fine after hearing Shulk's warning."

It is interesting to note that Robin was fully aware that the other Smashers had planned a party for Lucina. He was quite thankful, however, that Lucina had taken the time out of her day to visit him beforehand.

"There's no excuse," said Lucina, her gaze lowering. "If I wasn't so weak, I would have been able to handle that creature." Her face bore an expression of frustration and disappointment. "But it seems that no matter what I do, someone always gets hurt by the end of it." Tears started to well up in her eyes again as she recalled the horrifying sight of her hands cutting open Robin's mangled body. "I could have killed you."

"You had no control of your actions," replied Robin reassuringly. "There was nothing you could do. If anyone should be put to blame, it should be me for putting us in that situation."

"When will it stop, Robin?" asked Lucina all of a sudden. "When will it stop? Last night you could have died, but who's to say that tonight something much worse won't happen? What if I wake up and start attacking other Smashers in their sleep?"

"That won't happen," said Robin as he closed his eyes. "You're stronger than that, Lucina. I believe in you. You just need to keep fighting until I can determine what is causing these nightmares. My progress has been impeded since yesterday, but by tomorrow I should be able to start doing some more-"

"I can't go on like this."

Robin glanced at her, locking eyes almost immediately. She had a very distressed look about her and she may have been leaning a little too close to him. Something in her eyes was telling him that she couldn't take any more of these "workarounds," and that if something was going to be done about these horrifying encounters, it was going to have to happen soon.

"Lucina…"

"I just can't, Robin. I've tried being patient these past couple of days, but nothing is working. No matter what I do, the nightmares always find a way to break through to me. And it's only gotten worse with each passing day. I don't have time to wait for an answer; I need to do something about it now! If I don't… If I don't…"

Her words trailed off as she tried not to imagine the inevitable. Robin himself felt quite ashamed to hear this from her since he felt it was his job to keep her out of harm's way so long as they were participating in the tournament. That _was_ the task Chrom had originally put him up for anyway…

"I don't know what the others are going to think of me," continued Lucina. "Ike and Captain Falcon know the truth, but I know there have been rumors going around about me. Master Hand even imprisoned me in my own room, preventing any of the other Smashers from talking to me. What are they going to say when they see me again?"

"They won't say anything," said Robin sternly. "The Smashers believe in you, Lucina. I know they do. You just need to give them a chance to realize it. There's no point in keeping secrets anymore." Robin cringed as he felt a surge of pain shout through his body, but he held it back as best he could.

"What should I do now then?" asked Lucina honestly. "I'm certain that Master Hand has put the Smashers against me."

"They are not against you; the Smashers are our friends. Mario, Falcon, Marth, all of them. They wouldn't dream of wishing misfortune upon you. You just have to trust them."

Lucina's gaze was still fixed upon Robin's eyes. She knew deep down inside always to trust him and wouldn't think twice about going against his word. She was grateful in a sense to have someone like Robin to fall on to during troubling times like this. He was really the only Smasher in the mansion who understood her completely.

She was soon shaken out of her thoughts when she felt a warm hand around her fingers.

"No matter what happens," said Robin, "by the end of this, you will always have me. I don't plan on going anywhere and so help me gods as long as I'm still breathing, I won't let anything bad happen to you. Even if you ever have doubts about yourself, Lucina, remember that I will _always_ have faith in you."

He squeezed her hand tightly, but she didn't try to fight it. Robin had never tried holding her hand so often until the incidents started occurring. She didn't mind it. Sometimes a hand to hold was all one ever needed to get through hard times. She was surprised, however, that neither Falcon nor Ike had bothered to question her about her relationship with Robin during that moment when they held hands a few days ago. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she knew the answer herself.

"Lucina, can I tell you something," asked Robin all of a sudden. The sentence was a question, but the way he said sounded like he wasn't expecting an answer. "You and I have been members of the Super Smash Brothers for almost half a year now, and even before then we've had our own fair share of adventures with one another. I remember when you and I would take some time away from the battles and just sit down together. You would tell me tales about the future of Ylisse and what was to become of the kingdom." Lucina nodded her head, her eyes still fixed on his gaze. "Even back then I had my doubts about what was real or not, if these stories were actually true, or if we were just a band of misfits in way over our heads. Your father taught me to always stand up for the people I care about, and to never let anyone take away the things that are important to me." He brought his other hand on top of Lucina's, cupping it in warmth. "I care about you a lot, Lucina. I care about you more than anything else in the world, even more than the tournament." He paused. "I would give my own life just to see you smile one last time."

By now, Lucina could feel the tears returning, only these tears weren't born of shame or depression. They were coming from another feeling she had bottled up inside her, but she didn't quite know how to place it.

"Robin…" she said.

"Dr. Mario said I could die any day now if things don't get better," he continued. "I'm not sure what he means by that, but I do know one thing for sure." He closed his eyes, holding back whatever tears were trying to break free, before opening them again and staring deeply into the windows of her soul. "Lucina, I love you."

* * *

Captain Falcon made his merry way down the mansion halls while whistling "Saria's Song," Lucina's "heart" cupcake carried firmly on a plate in his right hand. In his mind, the plan was quite simple: Meet Lucina outside of her room, give her the cupcake, shoot the shit for like five minutes (and let the oh so necessary flirting commence), and then lead her innocently back to the ballroom where the Smashers would jump out of the darkness and yell, "Surprise!" followed by the crazy noises and confetti and whatnot. His excuse for bringing her to the ballroom was going to be something along the lines of Crazy Hand hosting a tournament meeting in order to tell them about the new match schedules. It was a solid plan, and even he couldn't help but grin childishly as he thought about. He just couldn't wait to see the look on Lucina's face upon arrival to the party!

Casually, the racer waltzed down the hall up to her room, but not before noticing the Duck Hunt Duo sitting nearby on the floor at attention. Curiously, the racer approached the two, realizing that they hadn't been seen anywhere near the ballroom helping with the decorating.

"What're you two bozos doing here?" asked Falcon nonchalantly.

The Dog had its tongue out with a blank look on its face, while the Duck on its back continued to stare at the wall without a care in the world.

"Hey, I'm talkin' ta you!"

The Dog responded by lifting up some wooden sign it apparently had with the words, "Master Hand told us to make sure no one goes in here," written in black marker.

Falcon eyed the wording on the sign with a queer look on his face.

"What!? You mean to tell me you've been guarding Lucina this whole time?" he asked.

The Dog pulled out another sign. This time it read, "We were until she decided to get up and leave a few minutes ago." This time, the Duck also joined in with a sign of its own that said, "Idiot."

Falcon's temper fumed as he read the word on the second sign, but ignored it seeing as how he didn't come all this way just to have an argument.

"Can you tell me where she went?" asked the racer casually.

The Dog promptly produced another sign that said, "Nope. Sorry. Not." The Duck, again, joined in with its own sign that read, "Did you try the hospital wing?"

"Oh, the hospital wing," replied Falcon unenthusiastically. He knew exactly why she would go there. Not that it mattered anyway. Now Robin was just going to have to sit there and watch as the racer gave Lucina a heart-shaped cupcake and go to the party without him. Easy peasy. "Alright, thanks you guys," continued Falcon before turning on his heels and heading towards the hospital wing.

The Dog and the Duck both sat in the hall for a few seconds before looking at each other and snickering.

Eventually, Falcon stumbled upon the hospital wing. He was hoping that the other Smashers wouldn't think he was taking his own sweet time, because he certainly had tried to get there as fast as he could without dropping the cupcake. He noticed, however, upon entering the hall that Robin's door had been left wide open.

Was Lucina still in there? There was only one way to find out.

The racer silently crept up against the side of the wall and peered inside, wondering if it was possible to eavesdrop on any conversation. He couldn't hear any speaking, but instead he ended up witnessing something that he truly regretted the very moment he laid eyes on it.

* * *

Robin had pulled Lucina into a kiss. Now, this wasn't just some peck on the cheek or some kiss that you would give an old relative, no, this was a _real_ kiss. A real kiss on the lips. And strangely, Lucina didn't seem to have any problem being locked in such a passionate act with Robin. The feeling was great at first, but was soon amplified twofold by the mere thought that they shouldn't be doing this, which gave them all the more reason to go for it. It all happened so fast too. One moment Robin was pouring out his innermost feelings for the girl, and the next, they had their hands on the side of each other's faces, their mouths connected in a way that only love could ever describe. It was a great and dangerous sensation, but it ultimately only lasted about twenty seconds before Lucina broke away from Robin, leaving him to sway back and forth ever so slightly and bearing an expression of deep satisfaction.

"We shouldn't do this," said Lucina seriously as she put the back of her hand to her mouth. "R.O.B. is probably watching us right now."

"You're right," replied Robin with a sigh, although a part of him really wanted to dismiss her comment and get back to business. "Please forgive me if you will."

Lucina shook her head, but gave a small smile.

"Perhaps another time," she said. "I… I just wanted to make sure you were alright. That's been the only thing on my mind since last night."

"Understandable." Robin leaned back and pulled himself down into his sheets, taking a deep breath. "Well, you have your answer now. Please, don't let me keep you. I can tell you're worried about being caught outside of your quarters."

Under normal circumstances, Lucina would have agreed with him, but for some reason Robin's kiss had made her feel much better about herself. She didn't care at all what Master Hand or what any of the other Smashers had to say about her situation. All she knew was that she had someone who cared about her, which surprisingly gave her more strength than she would have imagined.

"Get some rest, Robin," said Lucina before leaning over and placing a kiss on his forehead. "And thank you."

Robin smirked, but he tried to play it off cool as if what just happened a few seconds ago wasn't a big deal at all. "Any time."

With that, Lucina said good-bye and made her way back to the hall. Truthfully, Robin's words had given her a newfound sense of confidence, and she felt fully capable of handling whatever creatures the nighttime wanted to throw at her.

It was now time to tell everyone what was going on.

As she exited Robin's room, Lucina noticed a small plate on the ground with a chocolate cupcake sitting perfectly in the middle. Curiously, she picked it up. She noticed that in the center of the cupcake's face, someone had taken the time to draw a perfect heart out of icing sugar.

* * *

**Author's Note:** God damn, 8000 words. Don't expect another update until next weekend at least. A lot of stuff happened this chapter so let's recap. Captain Falcon baked a cake while other Smashers set up for the party; Peach, Charizard, and Duck Hunt all make their first big debuts; Lucina is still troubled by what happened to Robin and Master Hand ain't happy with her; and finally, Robin and Lucina shared something special together that Falcon couldn't stand to see. Any thoughts? Feel free to share! Thanks a lot you guys and have a nice day!


	16. Lucina Dances

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter gets a little weird; you'll see what I mean. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 16: Lucina Dances

* * *

For a mansion that housed over fifty residents plus servants, it sure was quiet around here. Lucina continued heading up and down the halls, poking her head into various public rooms such as the game room and commons area, but not a soul could be found. She was beginning to wonder if she had accidentally fallen asleep somewhere and was dreaming this whole setting. After stumbling upon a wandering Waddle Dee, she was informed that there were some Smashers currently duking it out on the stages, as was expected by the daily scheduled matches. The Waddle Dee in particular hadn't the foggiest idea where the stray cupcake in her hand had come from, but it was likely to assume that the baked good had originated in the kitchen in one way or another. Investigating the kitchen only resulted in yet another empty room, however, only now the odd lack of Smashers was replaced with the lingering smell of something warm and sweet. Where the heck did everybody go?

Eventually, Lucina had come across a lone banana peel that someone had carelessly left in one of the empty halls. She almost didn't notice it at first, and ended up almost slipping on it, which would have been quite funny from a third-person perspective. It wasn't long after that when she stumbled upon a second banana peel, and then a third one somewhere further down the hall. She found herself following the littered fruit skins like a trail of breadcrumbs, assuming that this was just Diddy Kong being an irresponsible little monkey again. He had a reputation for leaving banana peels on the ground, which annoyed the Waddle Dees all the same for they were the ones who normally had to pick up after him. Soon enough, the trail of yellow peels stopped in front of a large set of doors, which were located in the eastern part of the mansion in an area that Lucina seldom visited herself.

She was standing just outside the grand ballroom.

Hesitantly, Lucina gripped one of the vertical brass handles and pushed her way in. She knew the ballroom well enough that it was a room usually reserved for special occasions, as it was the only place big enough in the mansion that could host absurdly large parties. She peered into the darkness, muttering a quiet, "Hello?" before opening the door completely. Immediately following this action, the entire room burst to life with illumination; tons of Smashers were standing in the middle of the room as a group, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"SURPRISE!"

A lone Party Ball on the ceiling soon popped open, raining colorful confetti down on the whole area. Lucina just stood there with a shocked expression on her face, although she honestly looked more confused that happy.

"W-What's all this?" she asked in surprise.

She immediately recognized Ike, Marth and Shulk at the front of the group, though she was also surprised to see some other friendly faces such as Zero Suited Samus, Ness, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Pit, Greninja, Mr. Game and Watch, Fox, Jigglypuff, Palutena, Luigi, Meta Knight, Charizard, Link, Rosalina, Kirby, Zelda, King Dedede, and Peach. She soon noticed Diddy Kong, Lucas, and Yoshi poking their heads up while wearing party hats, but nearly lost her balance when Pikachu sprang from the center of the group and jumped into her arms, swallowing her cupcake in one big gulp in the process.

"Pi-Pikachu!" greeted the yellow Pokémon as crumbs fell from its mouth.

"Just a little something to brighten your day," said Ike with a friendly smile. "We know it hasn't been the easiest week for you."

At this, Lucina thought she felt her heart stop for a second. Pikachu didn't seem to notice and was quick to jump atop her head like an oversized hat, but the Pokémon was content nonetheless.

"Wait…" she replied with uncertainty. "You told them?..."

"We all know about the nightmares, Lucina," said Marth as he approached her. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We just want you to know that no matter what happens, we're here for you one hundred percent of the way."

Lucina almost didn't know how to respond. All this time she thought her friends would see her as nothing more than a freak, especially after the stunt she pulled with Robin in the previous night. It seemed that she underestimated the loyalty of the Smashers, and just thinking about it made her want to give them all the biggest hug she could muster.

As her gaze passed by each and every one of her friends' faces, she couldn't help but give a smile. They had decked out the entire ballroom just for her, stringing party streamers all across the ceiling, setting up tables and chairs around the central dancing floor. Various dinner and dessert foods had been laid out on the tablecloths, which was likely the source of that tasty aroma she had smelled earlier. On the far side of the room stood several rock band instruments, hinting that the Smashers had planned for some live music.

"Thank you," she replied wholeheartedly. "Thank you all. I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," said Shulk, giving a thumbs-up. "We're just glad you were able to make it!"

"Yeah, we were wondering what was taking so long," commented Samus. "We thought Falcon got lost or something, but it's good to see you got his invitation."

Some of the Smashers broke into a fit of laughter, but Lucina only gave a blank stare in confusion.

"Hm? What invitation?" she asked.

"The cupcake that Pikachu just ate!" replied Peach. "Pikachu you should know better than to eat other people's presents."

"Chuuu…" muttered the Pokémon in embarrassment.

"Wait a second," said Marth. "Where _is_ Falcon? He should have come here with you."

"I followed a trail of banana peels to get here," replied Lucina honestly. "I haven't seen Captain Falcon all day."

Donkey Kong shook his head in Diddy's general direction, causing the small monkey to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's weird," said Peach as she put a finger to her chin. "Captain Falcon said he would be the one to go get you."

"Maybe he really did get lost?" asked Link.

"If he did then how come Lucina got his cupcake?" replied Ike.

The Smashers began murmuring amongst themselves about whatever could have possibly happened to Falcon. Marth just gave Lucina a concerned look as she tried to remember how she ended up with the cupcake in the first place.

"_I found it outside of Robin's room_," she thought to herself. "_So why would Captain Falcon just leave it there without telling…_"

She looked up at Marth, but the Altean prince didn't seem to give a reaction.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I have to find him," she replied. "I think he-"

"ALRIGHT FOOLS! LET'S GET THIS PARTAY STARTED!"

Everyone's attention turned to the entrance of the room behind Lucina where Crazy Hand had come in. The large disembodied glove was dressed in some sort of flashy getup with several sparkling rings on his fingers. He also had black hair done up on the back of his hand like Elvis Presley. It was astonishing how different Crazy Hand was from his more conservative brother.

"Wait Crazy Hand!" replied Ike. "Falcon still hasn't shown up!"

"Pfft, well too bad for him then," replied Crazy Hand. "You snooze you lose big boys. Oi! Where's my jam?"

The hand paraded into the room with four Koopalings in Koopa Clown Cars trailing behind him and spitting harmless embers into the air. Larry, Morton, Lemmy, and Ludwig began circling around the room with excitement.

"I wouldn't worry about Falcon," said Sonic with a smirk. "The guy's notorious for crashing parties. He's bound to show up sooner or later." The hedgehog quickly ran over to the music equipment and picked up the crimson flying V electric guitar, giving the instrument a strum that roared through the strategically placed amplifiers in the area. Sonic then put his mouth to the microphone and said loudly, "Hey! Where's my bass guitarist?"

Marth glanced at Lucina and shrugged his shoulders before dashing off to Sonic's side. He was soon followed by Zelda who took her place on the keyboards, and DK who sat down behind the drums.

Lucina almost didn't know what to do at this point, contemplating whether or not she should run off to find where Falcon went. She feared that he had witnessed her secret kiss with Robin, but at the same time, she didn't want to be rude to her other friends for taking the time to set up the party for her. Pikachu patted the top of her head, giving her a reassuring nuzzle that everything was going to be okay (not that he cared about where Falcon was anyway). As Donkey Kong began counting in for "Don't Bring Me Down," and Sonic let the power chords loose, the Smashers began breaking off into the room, some of them immediately running to the dancefloor, and some heading towards the food and chairs. They weren't as concerned with Falcon's whereabouts because he had a reputation for being late to important events. Not to mention, a few Smashers like Samus and Jigglypuff in particular weren't big fans of him, and wouldn't really care if he bothered to show up or not.

Crazy Hand didn't seem to notice Lucina's distress at all as he didn't hesitate to jump in the middle of the room and start pulling off some funky dancing moves.

Given the circumstances, the best thing Lucina could do was hope that Falcon was alright. She didn't have much time to think about it though because the next thing she knew, Shulk had grabbed her by the hand and pulled her onto the dancefloor. The next hour or so became the result of loud rock music mixed with colorful flashing lights. It was fun, but not something Lucina could admit that she was used to.

* * *

The night wore on with much excitement and laughs. The Smash Band (composed of Sonic on guitar, Marth on bass, Zelda on the keyboard, and Donkey Kong the drums) were about as lively as ever. Lucina was happy with just sitting down and listening to the music, especially since the Hero-King was a part of the band. She had made a mental note to ask Marth to teach her the ways of the bass guitar (an instrument that he had recently picked up at the end of the Brawl tournament), but she couldn't comprehend how he could handle such a brutish instrument with such delicate fingers. Sonic was surprisingly a better singer than anyone could have guessed, and even Princess Zelda had quite the elegant voice herself. At one point in the evening, Lucina had noticed Zelda give her a friendly smile and a wink. It was good to know that the Smashers were so supportive of her compared to before, and just the thought alone gave her a lot of newfound confidence that had been further boosted from Robin's kiss. For now, it was best to keep things a secret, at least until she found out what happened to Captain Falcon.

The next song in the set list turned out to be ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night," but by this time, Lucina had worn herself out with the dancing. Crazy Hand and the Koopalings were still going at it however, as well as a few others who could handle the heat. Mr. Game and Watch in particular had an impressive amount of stamina and was a master of the robot dance, while Kirby and Rosalina's Luma had plenty of fun dancing together on the side. Other Smashers who weren't too fond of dancing like Meta Knight, Samus, and Lucas were perfectly content just sitting by and chatting with others. Yoshi didn't hesitate to return to his spot with three plates of food, as well as a pitcher of fruit punch, but Pac-Man contested it with his own stack of plates, a huge chunk of the cake, and a large bottle of Pepsi.

Lucina had taken some time to sit down and talk over dinner with some of the Smashers. She even got to enjoy some of the cake that Peach had made, which she found out had been partly baked by Captain Falcon. Of course, any kind of conversation was hard to endure when there was live music blasting about twenty feet away, but they made do with what they had.

Meta Knight and Fox were both equally curious to hear more about the nightmares that had been bothering Lucina in the past week, but it seemed that even the Star Warrior did not have a definite answer to her problems. She even told him about the "plugging my nose" tactic that Samus had suggested, but Meta Knight ended up dismissing that and saying it doesn't really work when one enters a lucid dream. Not to mention, he was convinced that the villain known as Nightmare had nothing to do with her dreams because both the Star Rod and the Fountain of Dreams were still intact (at least to his knowledge). By this time, Link and Rosalina had also joined the discussion, but they were more interested in hearing about the stories than providing their own suspicions, as they honestly had no idea how to respond. Regardless, it was comforting to Lucina all the same to see so many people supporting her. She wasn't used to getting this much attention all at once, but it really did make her feel better about her situation.

The evening wore on for a couple of hours, and after a brief snack break by the members of Smash Band, they were ready to take up arms again for the final act of their show. Now it was time for the slow dances.

The band opened up with "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," and despite Crazy Hand's hair, he was too pooped to do any more dancing, let alone with another person. He ended up just sitting out, which turned out to be more like lying down in a corner of the room. Luigi had found the strength in himself to ask Palutena for a dance, which the Goddess of Light was more than happy to accept. Peach had asked Lucas to join her on the dance floor for a song, though he was at first hesitant to respond, but eventually went with it.

As couples began taking their place on the floor (even Pikachu and Jigglypuff believe it or not), Lucina couldn't help but feel awkward as she sat between Shulk and Link on the side, wondering who on earth would ask her to dance. It was one thing when someone wanted to dance to party songs, but another thing when it was time to wind down to something slower and lovey-dovey. She wasn't concerned with whether or not someone would try anything funny so much as she didn't want others to feel bad if she chose to dance with a particular person. It didn't help either that the overall lighting in the room had dimmed to a certain degree, painting a somewhat romantic atmosphere on the area. Her thoughts were interrupted when a burly gloved hand was reached out to her, causing her to look up and come face to face with none other than Ike Greil.

"May I have this dance?" he asked politely.

"Oh, y-yes of course," she replied with a stutter, but she tried to play it off cool. It's not like she and Ike had anything between each other anyway.

The two swordsmen soon took their spot on the dancefloor and began gliding about, although Ike was somewhat clunky in the way he stepped. Maybe it was the boots? The pair had accidentally almost stepped on the Luma that Kirby was dancing with, and actually almost crashed right into Rosalina and Fox.

"I'm not really good at this," muttered Ike, looking at the ground and trying to focus his feet on not screwing up.

"It's okay," replied Lucina with a smile. "Neither am I."

The two continued circling the room, eventually passing Ludwig and Lemmy who were sitting on the sidelines. The two Koopalings began making kissing sounds in the swordsmen's general direction, causing Lucina and Ike's faces to both turn red.

"Ignore them," said Ike all of a sudden. "They're just being pests."

"Uh, right," muttered Lucina, glancing at the ground.

"Oi Romeo!" shouted Shulk. "You're blowing it!"

Ike gave him a glare to which the Homs could only giggle in response. Shulk was sitting off to the side with Yoshi, and the two were trying their hardest not to laugh. Lucina could only shake her head in response, but then gave a small smile.

"It's good to see everyone in such a good mood," she said. "I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed like this."

"Same here," replied Ike. "We might as well make the most of it while the night is still young."

The song ended, and the two swordsmen gave each other a bow. The next song starting up turned out to be Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing," a must-have classic on anyone's wedding set list. Upon hearing the opening, Dedede sprung up from his seat with excitement.

"I love this song!" he exclaimed. "Who wants to dance it with me?"

He looked about the room, but none of the Smashers seemed to be paying any attention to him because they were too busy either switching partners or casually chatting amongst themselves. The masked Star Warrior sitting next to him could only roll his eyes.

"It doesn't look like anyone is interested," muttered Meta Knight.

King Dedede looked far and noticed that Ike had just broken off from Lucina and she was about to rendezvous on the dancefloor with Mr. Game and Watch. As anyone would have expected, the penguin king seized the opportunity and sprinted as fast as he could to Lucina's position. Just as Game and Watch was about to take her hand, Dedede body-checked the 2D man against the far wall where he then fluttered to the ground with a moaning, "Beep…" Before Lucina could comprehend what was going on, Dedede had taken her hand and pulled her onto the dancefloor.

"King Dedede?" she said in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"You and me's gonna dance to this song girly!" he replied excitedly. The king wrapped an arm around Lucina's waist, pulling her close into his wide body. She tried to resist, or at least give herself a bit more breathing room, but Dedede turned out to be just as strong and aggressive as he looked. A few bystanders like the Koopalings, Charizard, and Diddy Kong couldn't help but laugh.

"Please unhand me," said Lucina as she tried to break free. She soon began twirling around, not because she wanted to but because Dedede was forcing her with his brute strength. Her efforts seemed to be in vain however, as the king was paying no attention to her and was too preoccupied singing his favorite part of the song.

"I DON'T WANNA CLOSE MY EYEEESS! I DON'T WANNA FALL ASLEEP CUZ I MISS YOU BABEH! AND I DON'T WANNA MISS A—WHOA!"

Meta Knight immediately swooped down and pulled the king off of the ground, forcing him to let go of Lucina in the process and lifting him high into the air.

"What are you doing you oversized marshmallow!?" shouted Dedede. "It was just getting to the best part!"

"Sire, I think you've had too much to drink," replied Meta Knight calmly as he dropped Dedede onto a pile of chairs.

Lucina chuckled upon seeing the king in his overturned state, but almost jumped in surprise when she noticed a circular shadow form in the ground in front of her. Out of the shadow emerged Greninja, the frog Pokémon with the uncanny abilities of… well a ninja.

"Greninj," greeted the Water Pokémon casually as it took a solemn bow. Its eyes were in some sort of a half-opened state, meaning that the Pokémon was completely relaxed. Of course, Lucina wouldn't have been able to guess that just by looking at it.

"Oh, you want to dance with me?" she asked over the sound of the music.

Greninja nodded and soon took one of her hands in its own webbed one. The two began continuing where Dedede had left off, although this time they began following more of a strut-like pattern, which Greninja was a master of to say the least. For a frog, the Pokémon turned out to be quite elegant on its feet, even taking the liberty of showing off a few ballet moves it had learned.

Meanwhile, by the food and group of chairs, Link was sitting down and watching the different couples dancing to the music. He didn't notice that an adult-sized cardboard box had somehow managed to slip into the room and creep across the floor towards his position. The box jutted up against the side of his leg, causing him to look down in curiosity.

"What the-?" he said.

Suddenly the box flipped onto its side and Solid Snake sprung up from his hiding spot, standing tall and confident with his hands on his hips. Link almost spat out the soda he was drinking upon recognizing the man.

"S-Snake!?" he said in surprise.

"Evening fairy-boy," replied Snake casually. "It's been a while."

Link glanced about the room, realizing that no one else had noticed the military agent. Snake was one of the few Smashers who had resigned from the company since the Brawl tournament, the other fighters being Wolf, the Ice Climbers, and Pokémon Trainer Red. At the time, Lucas also had the option of leaving the Smash Bros., but he ended up becoming too attached to some of the people to leave, thus making him one of the few Smashers who lived in the mansion that did not participate in tournament events.

Truth be told, no one was expecting Snake to return any time soon.

"It has!" said Link, still in a bit of a shock. "How have you been?"

"Been good," replied Snake. "Nothing really much to report. I've been getting a lot of work done in the field."

"Ah, that's cool…"

"I don't mean to drop in on you guys unannounced like this, but frankly speaking, I couldn't resist another Smash Bros. party." The agent began scanning the immediate area, noticing that there were quite a lot of unfamiliar faces this time around. His gaze stopped when he noticed Lucina and Greninja dancing in some kind of hybrid waltz. "What's with the princess and the frog? Don't tell me Marth actually decided to go through with that sex change…"

"Oh, that's Greninja," replied Link, glancing over at the dancing couple. "He's one of the new Pokémon recruits that joined last year. And the girl he's dancing with is Lucina, a descendant from Marth's royal family."

"Huh, you don't say…" Snake put a hand to his chin as he began examining Lucina's movements. "She really does look like Marth. If it wasn't for the hair I wouldn't be able to tell."

"You going to ask her to dance?"

"Nah. It'd be too weird anyway seeing that resemblance. You know me; I've always been more of a spectator than a participator."

"Nothing wrong with that. Will I see you around?"

"Possibly," said Snake as he began crouching on the ground and replacing the box over his body. "I'm just going to crawl over there and grab some free food. I can't imagine what would happen if Master Hand caught me sneaking around here. You know how he gets sometimes."

Link nodded slowly. As the military agent slunk back into the shadows, Smash Band's song had come to an end, and a few surrounding Smashers began applauding Greninja and Lucina's graceful performance.

"Thank you for the dance, Greninja," said Lucina as she took a bow.

"Greninja," replied the Water Pokémon before it sunk back into the ground and used its Shadow Sneak to retreat to one of the tables where Ness, Pac-Man, and Charizard were playing Parcheesi.

"Okay gang!" said Sonic into the microphone all of a sudden. "We hope you enjoyed the show. We're just about done now, but before we close, we'd like to perform one last song." Sonic gave a glance to Marth who responded with a nod. In the silence of the room, the hedgehog began strumming his melodic instrument in a steady pattern, his bandmates retaining no visible emotion as Sonic tapped his foot. Eventually, DK and Zelda kicked in with their instruments, and soon the whole ballroom was clapping and dancing with enthusiasm. "This one is dedicated to Lucina, a special request that was submitted by our very own Robin, who unfortunately couldn't make it this evening."

The Smashers began applauding while Lucina stood in the center of the dance floor in bewilderment. She couldn't believe that Robin had actually requested a song just for her. Although he couldn't make it to the party, the very thought alone almost made it seem like he really was there, standing beside her and holding her hand.

"_Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And everything you do. Yeah they were all yellow..._"

The words echoed beautifully in the air, some of the Smashers getting up one last time to dance. Lucina felt someone grab her hand, turning to the side to see Shulk with a warm smile on his face. The look in his eyes said, "Come on!" and soon enough, the two began dancing about the room again. Now, Shulk wasn't much of a dancer, however that didn't stop him from just letting loose and having fun, which is ultimately what Lucina ended up doing in the process. She threw her arms out and began to spin, completely entrapped within the music, the last of her worries about the nightmares vanishing almost as quickly as they came. Lucina had fallen into a state of bliss, realizing that these Smashers whom she referred to as "friends" were some of the best people she had ever come to know in her entire life.

"_Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful. And you know, you know I love you so. You know I love you so._"

As the song played on, Lucina continued to dance, and life was back to the way it was supposed to be. There were no copycat swordsmen, no demonic floating eyes, or any of that nonsense. All she had was herself, her friends, and the tournament. That's all she ever wanted since she joined the Smash Bros. and for the first time in a long time, she truly felt like things were back to the way they were before.

It was strange how music can have such a hypnotic effect on people.

Oddly enough, she didn't even know the song they were singing, but the words stuck with her somehow and she felt an emotional attachment towards the melody. Now there was nothing that could destroy her feeling of euphoria, and she planned on keeping it like that for the rest of the night.

Regardless of this, she still wondered in the back of her head where on earth Captain Falcon had disappeared to. It was already well over four hours into the evening, so no one expected him to be showing up any time soon, or even at all for that matter. It wasn't like the F-Zero racer to just skip out on an honest-to-goodness party. Something must have happened to him. Either that, or he had a perfectly good reason for why he didn't want to show his face.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wanted to throw way more random Smasher interactions in this chapter (ex. Snake and Lucina dancing, Pit asking Samus to dance, etc.) but I felt like it would be too distracting from the main plot of the story. I know this is supposed to be another one of those "fun" chapters, but I'm afraid this story might get too derailed if I overload on those. Anyways, the important thing to get from this chapter is that Lucina now feels better about herself, as well as what other people think about her and the nightmares. Also, I didn't realize how many real-world references this chapter had, so I hope I don't get sued or something (kidding). If you would like to listen to the songs featured in this chapter, here they are by order of appearance:

"Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra.

"You Shook Me All Night" by ACDC.

"I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by Elvis Presley.

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith.

"Yellow" by Coldplay.

Anyways, like I said this chapter got kind of weird, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Thanks for reading guys, see you next time.


	17. Dream Tap

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** Fair warning to those who are sensitive to swear words… Yeah there's going to be a lot more swearing (especially F-bombs) in the early part of this chapter. If you're sensitive to such things, then I encourage you to skip about a third of the way down the page.

* * *

Chapter 17: Dream Tap

* * *

"Another."

"At this rate you're going to keel over."

"I said another one dammit!"

The fat Italian man behind the bar shrugged his shoulders and poured Falcon another shot of whatever unholy mixture he was brewing. The F-Zero racer downed the glass in mere seconds, his throat burning with a forceful sensation as the alcohol entered his system. After a small fit of coughing, Falcon slammed the glass down on the countertop, the other two occupants in the room to staring at him with concern.

"Maybe you should call it quits," muttered Olimar from a couple of stools away.

Falcon glared in his direction, but didn't say one word. He merely breathed aggressively, like a bear preparing to claw at a fish in a riverbank.

The three Smashers were loitering at Wario's bar, a room in the mansion that was rarely ever visited by any of the residents except for Wario himself. The bar was located on the same side of the mansion as the ballroom, thus the booming sound of party music could be heard thumping through the walls, albeit muffled to a certain degree. Along the walls of the room were various portraits of Wario's friends, or at least, people whom everyone assumed were his friends since no one really knew much about them anyway. A few notable faces that Falcon could recognize included Mona, Orbulon, and Ashley, but frankly he was in too much of a haze to give a damn.

Captain Falcon, Wario, and Olimar had been sitting at the bar for about three hours listening to all of the fun going on in the ballroom. Olimar didn't have any intention of skipping out on the party, but when he noticed Falcon walk into Wario's room with a raincloud over his head, he knew something was up.

"I don't get it," muttered Falcon, his gaze falling to the hardwood flooring. "Why do I bother trying to make everyone happy when nobody gives a shit?"

Wario spat into the glass he was cleaning and began circling around the inside of it with his cloth. He frowned in Falcon's direction, knowing perfectly well why the racer had shown up at his door in the first place.

"Oh please, get over yourself," replied Wario as he rolled his eyes. "Every tournament it's the same damn thing. You see a hot chick; you fall head over heels for her without a second thought. And then when she's knocked you on your ass enough times, you still refuse to learn and just keep coming back for more!"

"What did I do to deserve this…"

Falcon looked up with half-opened eyes, but he was leaning on the counter as if his shoulders were made of bricks. Regardless of the amount of alcohol he had taken to offset the depression, he still couldn't stop thinking about Lucina and Robin.

"So let me get this straight," said Olimar all of a sudden. "You went in to Robin's room and saw Lucina in there kissing him?"

The racer's fist clenched tightly around the shot glass as Olimar said those last words. He didn't recall it being as simple as that. There were more factors to the equation, like the part about Robin being a "fucking scumbag" for seducing Lucina like that, or the part about Lucina being a "filthy lying whore" this whole time.

Okay, well maybe he was over-exaggerating things just a tiny bit.

"Remind me why you're drinking me out of house and home over this again," commented Wario. "I always thought those two were together."

"They don't have shit together," replied Falcon harshly. "All he does is latch onto her like a fucking leech. I made her a cake, I stayed up late to make sure she would fall asleep; I even pried a demonic hand off of her face! And what do I get after that? Fucking nothing. Nothing but a pat on the back. And what about Robin? He reads a book about Pokémon and all a sudden he's the next Sherlock fucking Holmes."

Falcon slammed his hand on the countertop, signaling for Wario to hit him up with another shot. Reluctant as he was, the fat Smasher just sighed and topped off the glass, to which Falcon accepted in an instant.

"Why the hell do you care so much about Lucina?" asked Wario. "You barely ever talked to her before, and now you're acting like you own her or something."

"Lemme tell you two a story," replied Falcon, cocking his head to the side momentarily before resuming his leaned-over posture. "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I didn't know anything about these newcomers. They joined the tournament like they always do, and get into the swing of things like they always do. Me, I'm just an honest guy trying to have a good time, but everyone here already knows that. Lucina and I get along just fine, and I always respected her for the woman she was, like I do for all women." At this, Olimar nodded his head, but he knew that Falcon was flattering himself a little too much. "We started doing this Friday night movie thing about a month ago, just me and her. And you know what? It was a great time! We laughed, we talked, we acted like friends right out of high school! But… I knew deep down that she didn't see me anything more than that."

"Cut the drama, can you just get on with it already?" asked Wario impatiently.

"So there we were, just two friends sitting there watching a movie. It was a nice break from the tournament and I knew she appreciated my company since we all know she doesn't have a lot of friends."

"I'm her friend," said Olimar, raising his hand sheepishly.

"Then one night," continued Falcon, ignoring the spaceman's comment, "Lucina started having these freakish nightmares. At first it's not a big deal. She wakes up with like a scratch that she assumed was from some monster in her dream, but the next night she ends up in worse shape than before. And then the next night she's outright trying to kill herself in her sleep! And then the night after that, she's caught red-handed trying to kill that white-haired bastard!"

"What's your point?" asked Wario.

"The point is!" replied Falcon. "The only reason why I've been so gung-ho over Lucina is because of her stupid nightmares! She's afraid of her own shadow now, and she doesn't want to spend another night sleeping alone! And if there's one thing I hate seeing, it's a girl being tormented by something she can't control."

Falcon adjusted himself on the barstool while the other two Smashers just exchanged awkward glances with each other. Truthfully, they weren't sure how accurate Falcon's tale was, mainly due to the fact that he was obviously drunk and was only telling them this to make himself feel better.

Regardless of the fact that he felt it was his duty to protect her, it still didn't explain why seeing Robin and Lucina kissing made him so upset.

"Falcon," said Olimar as he put down his glass of carrot juice. "I think you should just stay out of their business. Even if it _was_ Robin who kissed her, she was the one who returned the gesture was she not? You can't be mad at her for making her choice."

Falcon raised his hand up to say something in objection, but ended up mumbling some gibberish under his breath. He had to admit, Olimar did have a point. He always knew that Robin had a thing for Lucina, but he also liked to believe in the small voice in the back of his head that told him Lucina wasn't seeing anyone. After all, why else would she bother to spend her Friday evenings with him in front of the television?

"If you ask me, I think this is a complete waste of time," said Wario as he began picking his nose. "There's no point in trying to understand women. They're minds are always changing faster than they can think! One day they're your best friend and the next, they want to shove a Homerun Bat up your ass."

"Speak for yourself," replied Olimar, who knew very well of Wario's history with the girls of Smash Mansion. There were countless tales about Wario getting his butt handed to him, like the time when Zelda had batted him into the sunset when he tried getting a peak at her "goods," or the time Peach had clubbed him for digging up her turnip garden to get her attention. He had learned his lesson during the Brawl days, and honestly never bothered to take a chance again with newcomers like Lucina or Palutena. Nevertheless, gold coins and money were the only things that seemed to show him the kind of affection he deserved.

"I'm just saying, don't bother with her," continued Wario. "She obviously doesn't like you that way, so there's no point in banging your head against the wall."

"Great advice!" replied Falcon sarcastically. "And here I thought you two were my friends!"

"Friends my butt," retorted Wario. "You called me a 'fat-ass' the other day."

"And this is the first time you've talked to me since the Subspace Emissary," said Olimar. "And that was seven years ago!"

"The hell? Mario, I could have sworn I just talked to you this morning," muttered Falcon.

"I'm Olimar!"

"Oh, sorry… I was gonna say, you were looking shorter than normal today for some reason."

"Look," replied Olimar as he shook his head. "If you're that concerned about Lucina, then why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"Pfft, yeah okay, like that'll ever work. Since when did you become the love guru?"

"I'll have you know that I have a wife and two kids at home," replied Olimar seriously. "But if you don't want to take my advice, then that's fine. You're an adult after all."

That last sentence came off a bit harsh, but Falcon didn't seem to notice. Wario on the other hand, was willing to bet that the reason why Falcon didn't want to talk to Lucina was because he was too afraid of being rejected.

"If she tells you to screw off then just go!" said Wario. "Chances are you're probably not good enough for her anyway!"

"I'm good enough for anyone!" replied Falcon. "She just needs to give me a chance! I can still prove myself to her can't I?"

"Prove what though?" asked Olimar. "You said so yourself that Lucina was kissing Robin today."

"Maybe they're not really in love. Maybe she just got caught up in the moment and didn't know how to react! There's still time to turn this around!"

"And do what? Tell Lucina that you're madly in love with her? No offense Falcon, but you're getting in way over your head."

"Huh? What'd you mean?"

"How much do you really know about Lucina?"

Falcon seemed rather taken aback by that question. To him, he and Lucina were best buds. Surely there was something dear that the two of them shared that no other Smasher in the mansion had?

"Oh boy, this should be good…" mumbled Wario as he began wiping another glass.

"Tell me five things that you know about her," continued Olimar.

Falcon stuttered before coming up with a direct response. He had to squint a little in order to focus his thoughts, but once he was able to collect them together… he only ended up with a messy pile of information that he wasn't even sure was relevant to the conversation.

"Ugh, well she has a sword," said Falcon.

"Something we don't know?" replied the spaceman.

"She… needs someone to hold?"

"See! There isn't one thing that you know about Lucina personally."

"No wait!" replied Falcon. "She's a princess! I know that much."

"The princess of?..."

"Erm… El-ice. Er, no, was it… I-liss?"

"Ylisse."

"Right! Yeah…"

"Hey, how come you know that?" asked Wario to the short man.

"I thought everybody did," replied Olimar honestly. "Don't you remember that meeting we had at the beginning of the year when all of the newcomers went around introducing themselves?"

"No," said Wario, before briefly scratching his round behind.

Olimar sighed. Sometimes he wondered how these bozos ever managed to get a spot in Smash Bros. in the first place.

"Forget this!" said Falcon all of a sudden. "I don't need to know her life's story! I just want her to be safe! Is that so much to ask?"

"That depends," replied Wario. "But by the sound of things, I'd say she's having a pretty damn good time out there." His statement was soon followed by the sound of the music dying down to a halt, the only sound thereafter being murmurs and voices through the walls. It looked like the party had finally reached its closing. "Seriously, how is it that Master Hand hasn't stopped them yet?"

"I believe Crazy Hand said he spiked his tea," said Olimar.

"What's the point of all this?" mumbled Falcon, smacking another hand on the counter. "I can't say anything without someone throwing their own problems in my face."

"Honestly Falcon, you're moodier than a teenage prom queen," said Wario. "But don't you worry about a thing. I got just the right antidote for your kind of sickness."

Wario reached under the bar and pulled out a moderately large purple vial. The label on the front had a picture of Ashley's face winking, and when he uncorked the top, fizzing bubbles started to pop out of it.

"The hell is that?" said Falcon as he shook his head to try and get a better focus.

"This, my friend, is my own secret recipe guaranteed to lift even the dankest of crowds. Manufactured and patented exclusively by Warioware Industries itself, this drink is the key to unlocking your innermost happy-child. I call it, the 'Dream Tap.'" Wario held the bottle up high for all to see, but it didn't look nearly as impressive as he was making it out to be. "One dose of this baby and you'll be dreaming about Lucina till next Sunday."

It was a little known fact, but Wario was actually a successful business owner who ran his own toy and mini-game company, Warioware. There was also a section of the corporation that specialized in explosives, but that department never sold well. His games were usually a real hit with kids, however, and the rising success of the company in recent years was more or less the reason why he was so rich.

Falcon eyed the beverage like a little boy overlooking his presents on Christmas morning. Olimar, on the other hand, didn't seem all that impressed.

"Lemme see that," he replied, snatching the bottle away from Wario easily.

"Hey! Gimme that!"

"Eye of newt…" said Olimar, reading the ingredients on the back of the glass vial. "Grandma's wig… Kitten spit? What is this, a witch's brew?"

"It's a drink!" replied Wario as he swiped the bottle away from the spaceman. "It doesn't taste very good, but it has its own… um… 'unique' qualities that I'm sure either of you would like to hear about."

"Do tell."

Falcon was slightly swaying back and forth, but he remained silent and kept his eyes on the Dream Tap.

"This drink is a special brew that Master Hand told me not to give to anyone in the mansion," whispered Wario. "The ingredients are based on an old growth potion, but with some other crapped added in order to give it unusual properties. The formula itself contains mysterious compounds that distort the very fabric of time and space. Whoever drinks this will be instantly knocked out cold for a while, but that's not really a big deal. What _is_ a big deal is the fact that if more than one person drinks this, then they will all experience the same dream at the same time. Talk about an invasion of personal space!" Falcon and Olimar both exchanged glances while Wario gave them a toothy grin. "So you can see why Master Hand would forbid me from giving any of this to you guys. Technically, I'm not even supposed to have it here, but you know me… I hate rules."

Falcon did his best to pay attention to Wario's explanation, and he had to admit that even he was nodding off about halfway through. The part that got his attention, however, was when Wario mentioned he could use the Dream Tap to enter another person's dream (or so that's how he interpreted it). If this was true, then it was possible for him to go into one of Lucina's dreams and protect her from whatever evil forces were lurking nearby.

"Oh, one last thing," said Wario all of a sudden. "As great as this potion is, it does come with one major side effect. The formula does not have any alcohol in it, but it has a tendency to leave users with massive headaches the next day. I should know… Heheh. But it tastes like banana so that's good, right?"

"What are you getting at, Wario?" asked Olimar skeptically. "Are you saying you want Falcon to take this 'Dream Tap' so he can go into Lucina's dream?"

"If he really wants to then sure," replied Wario casually. "It doesn't matter to me honestly; I'm just trying to get him to leave my bar at this point."

Falcon put a hand to his chin, wondering if taking the Dream Tap would be all that worth it. On the one hand, he had a chance at saving Lucina from these freaks once and for all. And on the other hand… he really didn't know if there were any other side effects that Wario wasn't mentioning."

"What happens," started Falcon all of a sudden, "if I die in someone's dream?"

Wario paused for a moment trying to come up with an answer, but seemed to be drawing blanks.

"I don't know," he said plainly. "No one who's ever used one of these has ever died before."

"Forget it, Wario," interjected Olimar. "That's way too risky. I should have known that we were dealing with black magic the moment I saw the label."

"Who said anything about black magic?"

Olimar gestured to the picture of Ashley on the label, to which Wario could only shrug.

"The little brat likes to throw her face on my merchandise. What can I say?"

"I'll do it," said Falcon suddenly as he slammed his hand on the table. "I'll take the Dream Tap and go into Lucina's dream. Then I can put a stop to these nightmares once and for all. It's the only thing I can do now."

"Thatta boy!" replied Wario happily before he began pouring a small dosage of purple liquid into Falcon's shot glass.

"Hold on Falcon!" said Olimar, putting a hand on his arm. "This isn't a good idea. Even if you _do_ manage to get in to Lucina's dream, there's no telling what could be in there. You don't even know what you're looking for!"

Falcon calmly pulled away from the short man and lifted the glass up into the air. He began eying every angle of the enclosed liquid, watching each of the small bubbles fizzle up to the top. He could have sworn he heard a little girl laughing somewhere in the distance.

"I'll know it when I see it," he said. "I don't want to see Lucina in anymore pain. Even if it means I'll never wake up again."

"Just so we're clear, I never said that," interrupted Wario hastily. "As a matter of fact, forget that I ever gave you anything. I was never here." Olimar frowned at him, to which Wario could only smirk, knowing full well that he either assisted or condemned Captain Falcon for life. "Oh, and if by some freakishly small chance you do end up dying, I call dibs on the helmet."

"I'm not going to die," replied Falcon, closing his eyes. "I'm just going to take a nap. See you boys in the morning."

With that, Falcon downed every last drop of the Dream Tap, smashing the glass down on the countertop and shattering it instantly. A few seconds after that, the racer bobbed left, and then right, and then back to the left again, before toppling over and falling from his barstool to the cold, hard ground. Wario then glanced at Olimar, offering up the Dream Tap bottle, but he kindly declined with a wave.

"Well, you better haul his ass outta here," said Wario before cleaning off the countertop of his bar.

"Me? Why do I have to?" asked Olimar. "You're the one who drugged him!"

"I've got work to do. And besides, the bar's closed now. Better get a move on shorty."

Olimar sighed before lifting up his whistle and giving it a loud blow. Almost immediately, a group of multicolored Pikmin paraded into the room and surrounded Falcon's body. They all put their tiny hands underneath him, and on the count of three, lifted him up just enough that his butt was off the ground. Using their iconic, "Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" chant, the Pikmin carried the F-Zero racer out of the room and down the hall. Olimar was quick to hop off of his seat and follow his workers out.

"For someone who couldn't care less about other people's problems, you sure weren't hesitant to help," said Olimar as he left the room.

Wario continued wiping the countertop in silence. He gave an uneasy glance to the Dream Tap bottle sitting nearby, but thought nothing of it after he picked his nose and found a nice juicy booger.

The taste was simply scrumptious.

* * *

"…And then the guy says, 'That's not a Mechon. That's my wife!'"

Ike gave a hearty laugh while Lucina responded with a puzzled look. In all honesty, she never really got jokes, let alone ones about mechanical soldiers that she's never heard of before.

The trio of friends were making their way back to the dorm rooms. By this time, most of the other Smashers had already turned in for the night within their respective rooms. The Waddle Dees were left in charge of cleaning up the ballroom tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, Ike and Shulk had decided to walk Lucina back to her room out of chivalry. Even they could tell that tonight was one of the best nights she had experienced in quite a while.

"I'd like to see what one of these Mechon look like one day," said Lucina with a smile. "They sound very interesting."

"They sound interesting, but they're not nearly as fun to talk to," replied Shulk jokingly. "Maybe I can convince Master Hand to take us all on a field trip to the Bionis."

"Now that's something I'd like to see," commented Ike.

After a night of dinner, dancing, and of course, drinking, the heroes were starting to get pretty tired. It must have been close to midnight by this time. Lucina's dorm was actually on the far side of the mansion compared to Ike and Shulk's, so when they inevitably came across their rooms, Lucina made it apparent that she was perfectly fine with walking back by herself, but that it was very kind of them to offer anyway.

"What about your dreams tonight?" asked Ike. "Do you need another one of us to stand and guard?"

"No thank you," she replied. "Everyone's pretty tired this evening, so I'd like it if you could both get your sleep so that you're ready for the tournament matches tomorrow. Besides, Master Hand has Duck Hunt guarding my room, so if I run into any problems, they'll be the first ones to know."

Truthfully, she wasn't feeling as bad about the nightmares as before. In fact, she felt so confident in herself that she almost _wished_ something would attack her tonight. Sword or no sword, Lucina was finally beginning to overcome the fear of being alone in the dark.

"Alright, if you're sure," said Shulk. "If you need anything, you know where to find us."

"That I do. And thank you both again for the party. It was a truly wonderful experience."

"Thank you for coming out," replied Ike with a smirk. "We'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Lucina continued on her way to her dorm room, passing by and saying goodnight to a few other Smashers who were heading to bed for sleep. She was so thankful to have such caring friends, but despite all of this, she was still wondering where Captain Falcon had been this whole time.

As she turned the corner to her hall, she saw a small group of Pikmin being led by Olimar dragging Falcon's body at the far end of the corridor. Instinctively, she ran over as quickly as she could, bypassing the Duck Hunt Duo (who were actually asleep, some bodyguards huh?), and stopping just as Olimar was about to round the next bend.

"What happened to Captain Falcon?" she asked with concern.

Olimar nearly jumped out of his suit at her question because he didn't realize she was standing behind him. Her motion also startled the Pikmin, which promptly dropped Falcon on the ground with a "Thud!" before they scrambled about and lifted him up again.

"Oh, Lucina!" said Olimar casually. "Didn't see you there. Uh, don't worry about Falcon, he just… He had a little too much to drink."

Lucina leaned over a bit to get a better view of the racer's face, noticing that his cheeks were quite flush.

"Where was he?" she asked.

"At Wario's bar," replied Olimar straightforwardly. "He was getting a little too beer-happy and ended up falling off the stool and hitting his head. Thank goodness he had the helmet on."

Obviously, Olimar wasn't prepared to tell Lucina about the Dream Tap Falcon had ingested. As a matter of fact, even he himself wasn't one hundred percent sure about how it worked. He was all the more curious to see how this evening would transpire.

Lucina could only stare in shame, for she knew exactly what had driven Falcon to this point. She knew that he wasn't one to go overboard with drinking, unless it was with friends, and he wasn't even at the party! The cupcake invitation added with this scene only gave her one definite answer in her head: Falcon had witnessed her kiss with Robin.

"Please," she said, "let me-"

"No need, dear!" interrupted Olimar as he began directing his Pikmin with hand signs. "These guys can handle it. You just make sure you get your sleep. We don't want you to have another accident now, do we?"

He led his Pikmin off down the hall and then to the next corridor where Falcon's room was. Lucina could only stand there, stricken with the thought that it was her fault why Falcon was left in this broken mess of a state. Her hand fell over her heart, and she took a deep breath in the silence of the mansion hallway.

"Thank you for everything, Captain Falcon. You truly are one of the best friends I've ever had."

She made her way back to her room, but not before tapping the Duck Hunt Dog on the shoulders. Both animals immediately jumped at attention like rookie soldiers in the military. By the time they realized what was going on, Lucina had already disappeared into her room and shut the door. The duo Smashers then glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders before curling back up on the ground. The Dog made sure to write up one last sign and lean it sturdily against the wall before falling asleep.

"_Do Not Disturb._"


	18. The Fifth Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I recently got around to playing AND finishing Fire Emblem: Awakening this past weekend. I wasn't able to experience all of its features because I wanted to rush through the campaign mode and get the gist of the story down. The reason why I wanted to get past that before writing this chapter is because this chapter will probably have the most connection towards the game so far, thus I wanted to make sure I was staying "true to the lore" or whatever since I know a lot of the people reading this are avid readers in the Fire Emblem community. But this is Smash Bros. dammit! Rules don't apply here! Speaking about rules, what the heck is up with the whole time travel thing in FE:A? Seriously guys, if you're making a game, or a movie, or a book, for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT put anything even remotely related to time travel in it! Honestly, if it was so easy to go back in time, why didn't the bad guys just, I don't know, go back in time to stop Lucina from going to the past in order to resurrect the dragon? And wouldn't Lucina coming in contact with her younger self just cause some sort of time paradox anyway? Ugh, such a mess. Don't get wrong, it was an awesome game, but they didn't really have an explanation for these unanswered questions, so if someone who is more versed in the story than I am could clarify for me, that would be great. I'd love to see an explanation for this.

Anyways… Um… Enjoy chapter 18.

* * *

Chapter 18: The Fifth Encounter

* * *

It took about an hour or so for Lucina to finally settle down from all of the excitement of the evening. She ended up going to bed in her blue armor yet again, and admittedly she still wasn't getting used to it. The only reason why she started doing this in the first place was because of the evil encounters in her dreams, because it seemed that her clothes would carry over into the dream world. Not only that, but everything else in the mansion seemed to exist in this parallel universe as well, albeit a bit more obscure and not nearly as comforting.

The fact that she didn't have her Falchion was also a tragic factor, and she made a mental note to confront Master Hand about this whole stupid issue, though in all honesty, she was actually waiting for _him_ to approach _her_. How is it that he would let the Smashers get away with throwing a late night party during the weekday, let alone as a warm sentiment for Lucina? She recalled overhearing Crazy Hand mentioning something to a few curious Smashers that he had "put him to sleep," but other than that he gave no obvious hint. It still amused Lucina how different the two hands were from each other, and even funnier still how Crazy Hand seemed to naturally fit in with the other Smashers while Master Hand remained to be this Supreme Being that ranked higher than anyone else in the mansion. She planned on learning the secret of Master Hand and Crazy Hand's origin sometime in the future, but for now, she was preoccupied with some more… intrusive thoughts.

"_Why on earth would Captain Falcon do such a thing to himself?_" she thought as she stared up at the dark ceiling from her bed.

Truthfully, she was referring to the way Falcon supposedly drank himself stupid at Wario's bar while the rest of the Smashers were busy having a good time. Apparently, he was the one in charge of inviting Lucina in the first place (and invite her he did) though he did not hesitate to run off as soon as she got the message. How much did he see exactly?

"_It was unexpected_," she thought, furrowing her eyebrows. "_It happened completely on accident, and I couldn't take control of my emotions…_"

She didn't want to believe that the reason why Falcon had left in such a hurry was because of Robin's kiss. But what other reason was there? Despite how he acted around Robin, Falcon wasn't one to outright _hate_ people. Was it by embarrassment perhaps? Or maybe he just didn't want to interrupt them on their "alone time?" No. There was no denying it. Captain Falcon had a soft spot in his heart for Lucina, but just thinking about it made her feel uneasy. She admired him for his confidence and athletic abilities, but she was in no position to start thinking about relationships. She wasn't even sure how she felt about Robin! She almost wished things went back to the way they were when no one paid attention to her and all she had was her small circle of friends to talk to.

Ultimately, she was going to have to confront Falcon and Robin about this issue, but she knew it was going to be awkward as hell. She was more comfortable talking to Robin about these sorts of things anyway. Still, she couldn't deny that since the nightmares began, she had been opening herself up to Falcon with each passing day. Perhaps he interpreted this as his own personal invitation to "try her out" or something? For all she knew, Falcon could have had these feelings from the beginning of the tournament.

"_I just hope he's alright_," she thought, turning to the side and closing her eyes. "_He shouldn't have to put himself through this just for my sake_."

Lucina was a strong fighter and an even more valuable friend, but if it was one thing she hated, it was being a burden to others. She knew in her heart that deep down, Falcon was a caring individual, and would sooner throw himself in the way of a speeding vehicle in order to save the ones he loves. The same thing could be said about Robin, only for some reason, Lucina couldn't help but think that she was the only thing in the mansion that he really cared about.

Eventually, Lucina's thoughts began to fade into grey blurbs, and one thought train would lead to another before her brain officially shutdown. She didn't know what to expect from this night as far as monsters were concerned. She also didn't know how things could possibly get any worse after the previous incident with Robin's Levin Sword. Well, at least she was by herself, so if another monster did decide to show up, no one else would be harmed by it… or her own actions.

It was funny how her overall attitude towards this whole situation had completely changed over the course of the week. She had gone from asking her friends for assistance to not even bothering anymore. It's not that she felt she could handle the problem on her own so much as the fact that she didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her.

The night wore on quite naturally unbeknownst to Lucina. She didn't end up having any dreams for a while. Instead, she just had these subconscious thoughts floating around in her head, bouncing off one another like the square ball in Pong bouncing off of the paddles.

"_You're stronger than that, Lucina_," echoed Robin's voice. "_I believe in you_."

"_It's not like you to throw in the towel_," came a voice from Falcon. "_Like, remember that time you and I were in a team battle against Donkey Kong and Bowser? We were losing so hard during the match, but we kept fighting together and we pushed ourselves as far as we could go!_

"_If I have to put a straitjacket on you by the end of this week, then so help me I will_," said Master Hand sternly.

"_There's nothing to be afraid of,_" echoed Marth's calming voice. "_We just want you to know that no matter what happens, we're here for you one hundred percent of the way_."

"_It's all make-believe after all_," chimed Ike.

"_Lucina._"

Lucina's eyes shot open, but she immediately squinted from the sudden burst of white light in her view. She found herself standing up straight, although she was no longer in her dorm room. Heck, it didn't even look like she was in the mansion anymore! She seemed to be suspended in some kind of white void, where there was no ground, no sky, or even any gravity for that matter. Everywhere she looked was just an endless sea of light, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought she was dead. There was no doubt in her mind that she was experiencing another dream again, but if this was true, then why did the environment take on a completely different form unlike before?

"Lucina," called the familiar voice again.

The girl froze at the sound of her name, for the source of the voice seemed to be coming from a few feet behind her. Slowly, she turned around, a feeling of hesitation and doubt building up inside her; for she thought she recognized the male voice belonging to the entity. Was it another monster? Was it a Smasher? Her questions were immediately answered when she found herself standing face to face with a man whom she had not spoken to for quite a long time.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," said Chrom with a welcoming smile. "How are you doing?"

Lucina almost didn't know how to react as she found herself standing there with her mouth agape. From his shining blue hair, to his still white cape, to the legendary Falchion tucked securely in its sheath, the man standing before her was none other than Prince Chrom, the very same man who saved the continent of Ylisse during the dark ages. It was also during those dark times when Lucina had last spoken to him before joining the Super Smash Bros. along with Robin. There were occasions during the tournament when Robin had summoned Chrom using his Final Smash, but that incarnation of her father was nothing more than an astral projection, just an empty shell. Seeing him now and in the flesh was something she was not prepared for. It was like he hadn't aged a day since they last met.

"Father…" she ended up saying, although she was more in disbelief than anything else. "What are you… doing here?"

It was not unnatural for Lucina to have dreams about her mother and father, for she will admit that she misses their company sometimes. Life for her wasn't the same as it used to be. Back then, they were all just a traveling band of Shepherds, destined to rid the world of some untimely evil. Why now of all times would Chrom suddenly appear in her dream, let alone in a very vivid manner similar to the nightmares of the past? Surely this must have been some kind of illusion.

"You called me here," replied Chrom casually. "You are no longer afraid."

Lucina just stared at him with a confused expression on her face. What the heck was he talking about?

"Your nightmares," continued Chrom. "They are warning signs, hinting to a greater evil that is lurking in the shadows of your consciousness. It's thanks to your friends that you have overcome that fear, and is the exact same reason why I stand before you now."

"I… I don't understand," replied Lucina with uncertainty. "How can you know about the nightmares? I haven't seen you since…"

"Come with me," he said, reaching out a gloved hand towards her. "I will explain everything."

Lucina eyed his outstretched limb as if it were a foreign entity. How was her father able to communicate with her like this? More importantly, how could she just assume this was real? For all she knew, Chrom could have been another one of those monsters in disguise, waiting to pounce on her the moment she let her guard down. Nevertheless, the sudden appearance of him definitely took her off guard, and she found herself standing in quite the dilemma, unsure if whether or not this man asking for her hand was her real father at all.

"How do I know it's really you?" asked Lucina. "Father."

Chrom flipped his cape to the side, revealing the Mark of the Exalt on his right arm. This mark was the same one that had been embedded into Lucina's left eye at birth. But was it proof enough?

"You're just going to have to trust me," replied Chrom, reaching out to the girl yet again. "Please, Lucina. Take my hand."

Lucina was hesitant to respond, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She trusted her father more than anything else in the world, and to think that this act could be a mere trick sickened her to the bone.

"Take my hand."

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath before approaching him and placing her hand in his. The next thing she knew, her vision started to fade away into complete whiteness, blinding her to the point where she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not.

* * *

"Link, Mario, Ness, Ike, Villager, Little Mac…"

Captain Falcon began reading the names of the Smashers out loud as he walked down the cryptic corridors of… wherever he was. He actually had no idea where he going, but there was no doubt in his mind that the Dream Tap had invoked this fictional plane.

Falcon was standing in what appeared to be a long and endless hallway that seemingly spanned on for infinity. The walls were textured with an obscure purplish color that pulsated red, as if the very room itself was some kind of living, breathing organism. After ingesting the Dream Tap, Falcon found himself waking up here, barely able to find his footing due to the squishy floor beneath him. He was feeling a little lightheaded, but overall not nearly as bad as he was prior to falling asleep. It must have had something to do with being in the dream world, but he didn't have time to think about it anyway. He just kept looking back and forth as he maneuvered down the corridor, like a glimmer of light wandering through the darkness. For some reason, the hall was awfully warm and despite its creepiness, it gave the racer some sort of comfort.

Along the sides of the walls stood several doors in varying shapes and sizes, each with a wooden sign pinned to them with names of each of the Smashers.

"…Dedede, Falco, Bowser, Luigi, Game and Watch…"

Most of the doors were of a simple wooden build, but some of the more interesting ones like the doors belonging to Meta Knight and Zelda, were a little on the small side, and were also sealed with an overly large padlock. He had stopped for a moment to peer into a room that had Kirby's name on the door, mainly because the door was both petit and colorful. Opening the door only revealed the little pink puffball of a Smasher sitting in a playroom with a bunch of toys and junk food piled around. Kirby looked like he was having a blast, but didn't notice the F-Zero racer watching him. Falcon decided to leave him alone, for witnessing that scene was proof enough for him that these doors were not just any regular doors. No, these doors were gateways into every sleeping Smasher's mind, the very plane on which dreams can thrive.

"…Marth, Pit, Shulk, Megaman, Sonic…"

The racer had also taken a peek inside of Samus' room earlier mainly out of curiosity, but regretted it when it only revealed the bounty huntress to be a psychotic maniac who spent her dreams physically torturing some oversized lizard she referred to as "Ridley." He had even stumbled upon his own door, but when he went inside to see what was going on, he ended up back in the same hallway as if nothing had changed.

This dream was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

"Lucario, Palutena, Waddle Dee, Waddle Dee, Waddle Dee… Waddle Dee… more Waddle Dees…"

Yes, it seemed that even the Waddle Dees had their own fair share of dreams. Who the heck cares about those though?

"Rosalina, Lemmy, Wendy, Iggy, Ludwig, Morton, Roy, Larry, Lemmy, Bowser Jr…"

Little did Falcon know that the shape and size of each of the doors directly depended on the intensity of the dream of the user. For example, Kirby's door was smaller than the norm, suggesting that his dream was not nearly as mentally stressing when compared to Samus' dream and her larger door. Who knew what kind of condition Lucina's door would be in?

"Greninja, Donkey Kong, Toon Link…"

Falcon stopped when he noticed the next door in line was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was just a giant gaping hole in the wall, suggesting that someone or something had outright plowed right through the door that used to be here. Through the hole, Falcon could see vast grassy plains and farmland, and he could also feel the nip of a calming breeze on his chest.

"This must be it…" muttered Falcon before he glanced at the floor, noticing Lucina's sign carelessly tossed to the side. He picked up the wooden plating that displayed her name before looking far across the Ylissean plains. "Don't worry Lucina. I'm coming for you."

Falcon promptly dropped the sign and ran off into the distance, searching far and wide for any sign of the blue-haired swordswoman.

* * *

When Lucina opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the middle of a plain just outside of a small ranch. A couple of horses were idly standing by, tied to a nearby fence post. She could see great mountains rolling in the distance, and the sound of birds chirping was a nice breath of fresh air after waiting in that void. As she looked about the environment, the cool wind brushing her cape up against her side, she couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging.

"I know this place…" she mumbled to herself.

"Father! Watch me!" called a little girl's voice from behind.

Lucina turned around to see Chrom standing on a dirt area with his hands on his hips. A young blue-haired girl was swinging a wooden sword about near a makeshift scarecrow. The scarecrow itself was nothing impressive, as it had its face covered by a bucket helmet, and it seemed to wield a broom as a weapon. The little girl seemed to be practicing her swordplay on the dummy, pretending as if it were an actual enemy soldier from an invading continent.

"I'm watching, Lucina," replied Chrom casually.

The sound of her name struck the older Lucina like a bullet. Suddenly, her memories of this ancient place had returned to her. This ranch was a merely a private home that Chrom used to take her on the weekends when she was younger. The scene between the father and daughter playing before her had very much happened before somewhere in the threads of time.

The little girl, dressed in casual country attire that matched her hair color, swung left, then right, and then twirled around and swiped upwards, knocking the bucket clean off of the scarecrow. Chrom began applauding the performance before the girl giggled and took a bow, almost dropping her sword in the process.

"Nice job!" he said with a laugh. "I see you've been studying the swordplay of the great Hero-King."

"I can almost do all of his moves!" she replied confidently. "Look! Here's Dolphin Slash!"

Little Lucina crouched down and slashed up high, although her feet barely left the ground. She quickly lost her footing and fell over, kicking up dust into her mouth in the process. Chrom let out a small chuckle before getting down and helping the girl up.

Lucina, who had been witnessing this whole event from about five yards away, could only cringe at the scene.

"_Ugh_," she thought. "_Now I remember this_."

"Are you alright, Lucina?" asked Chrom as he helped the girl to her feet.

"Yes, Father," she replied. "I'm fine. I just tripped, that's all."

"Mastering the Hero-King's techniques is no easy feat. You shouldn't push yourself so hard."

"But I want to be strong like you!" The girl stuck her tongue out at her father childishly. "How else am I supposed to get better if I don't practice?"

"Follow the patterns I showed you," replied Chrom as he unsheathed his weapon. He began tapping the tip of his blade against various parts of the scarecrow's vital areas. "The armor is always the weakest at the joints, so focus your thrusts there. Jab, jab, swipe. And be sure to stay clear of enemies with spears, for spears will always outrange a sword."

The girl sheathed her small wooden sword, making a pouty face.

"I've already practiced all of those before!" she complained. "When are you going to teach me something new?"

"When you've shown me that you understand these simple techniques," replied Chrom, sheathing his Falchion, "then we can move on to the next lesson."

The blue-haired swordswoman watching from afar couldn't help but shake her head at the child's ignorance. She couldn't believe she used to be that stubborn, especially around her own father.

"Oh yeah?" said the little girl. "Well I know a technique that you haven't mastered yet!"

"Oh really?" replied Chrom with a smile. "Do you mind sharing it with me then?"

"Yeah. It's called… Tickle Fight!"

The girl immediately pounced on the young man, sending them both toppling to the ground with her on top. Chrom didn't have any time to react and soon found himself at the mercy of his own daughter.

"Lucina!" he cried. "Haha! Lucina stop!"

"Never!"

As the two rolled around in the dirt wrestling each other, the elder Lucina couldn't help but stare. A flurry of mixed emotions was welling up inside her, some of guilty origin, some of yearning, and some of nostalgia. She remembered the days when her father was exactly what he was supposed to be: A dad. Chrom wasn't any prince of Ylisse or captain of the guard. He was simply Chrom, Lucina's father, and probably the best dad any kid could ever ask for. The very sight of the love these two shared for each other caused a tear to come to Lucina's eye, as if she had recently dug up an old memory she had long locked away for safe keeping.

Eventually, Chrom collapsed, and little Lucina put her hands up in the air triumphantly.

"I win!" she cheered.

"I'll get you next time," replied Chrom with a laugh. "You caught me off guard."

"Excuses!" replied Lucina before she got off her dad. Chrom immediately pulled himself to his feet.

"Alright, that's enough practice for today," he said. "Go on and play; I'll call you when dinner's ready."

The girl let out a small giggle before running up and kissing her father on the cheek, and then dashing off with one of the smaller horses. As Chrom watched her ride around the grassy plains, he couldn't help but give out a small sigh.

"They sure grow up fast, don't they?" he muttered.

He turned around, locking eyes with adult Lucina. Lucina almost didn't realize he was actually looking at her, for she was under the impression that this was all a playback from her memory. She stood there silently as the man approached her, but she didn't try to move at all. She just kept staring at him, unsure of how to react or what he was going to do.

"Lucina," he said, standing but a few feet away from her. "You remember all of this, don't you?"

Lucina glanced past him at the little girl riding the horse. Her blue hair bounced majestically in the wind as she laughed.

"I do," she replied, turning back towards Chrom. "But… why are you showing me this?"

Chrom took a deep breath.

"There is a great evil lurking within you, Lucina," he said. "An evil so vile and sinister that if you don't stop it soon, it's going to consume you. Grima has returned."

Lucina thought she felt her spine tingle at the sound of the Fell Dragon's name.

"Grima?" she asked. "But that's impossible. Grima was defeated at the hands of the Shepherds."

"He was," replied Chrom. "But a fragment of his being now resides within your very soul. A cursed seed has been planted in your consciousness, and with each passing day it grows larger. Your emotions are the source of his energy."

Lucina couldn't believe what she was hearing. For a second, she thought her father had been playing her for a fool. Actually, she almost wished that this was all some kind of sick joke that Chrom made up on the spot, but the look in his eyes told her otherwise. She remembered Grima's death very clearly since she was one of the warriors who helped deliver it to him. How was it that he could revive himself, let alone without the aid of his loyal followers?

"Your dreams are the key," continued Chrom. "Every negative emotion you've experienced has only added to his power. It all began with one event that triggered his awakening."

"It can't be…" she muttered to herself. She began to think back to when this whole mystery began. If what Chrom was saying was true, then Grima's awakening must have been triggered during that night in the living room when she was fearful the most…

"I was able to contact you tonight because something about you changed," said Chrom. "You were not afraid. You were glad, and you were confident in yourself as a person and as a fighter. Grima cannot see through these kinds of emotions; they stand against him greater than any shield would."

Lucina had her friends to thank for that. If it wasn't for their support, she probably would have ended up having another one of those stupid nightmares instead of this dream.

"Father," she said. "If Grima is trying to resurrect himself just as you said… Is there a way to stop him?"

"There is," replied Chrom as he unsheathed his weapon. "The Fell Dragon is nowhere near as powerful as he used to be in his current state. You must use your exalted sword—the one that is handed down in our bloodline—to pierce his scales. If Grima isn't destroyed then the world you know may very well be plunged into an age of darkness. History may repeat itself just as it did a millennia ago."

Lucina glanced at the shining blade of Chrom's Falchion as she thought about her situation. On the one hand, she felt afraid, for she knew the terrifying power of the Fell Dragon when she witnessed it firsthand in the alternate future of Ylisse. On the other hand, she knew she was the only one who could stop him. If the dragon had really planted itself inside of her mind, then surely she was the only person who could get rid of it, like trying to get rid of a bothersome wart. This also explained where the evil entities in her dreams had come from. The Gengar, the False Character, the Wallmaster, they were all mere puppets summoned by Grima in order to break her down. Like Chrom said, Grima's power was weak, so he had no choice but to feed off of Lucina's despair for energy. The Fell Dragon probably didn't think she would have figured it out by now.

She was going to have to reclaim her sword from Master Hand in one way or another.

"Very well, Father," she said with a nod. "I know what I must do now. I'll-"

"Hold it right there bub!"

Lucina and Chrom both glanced in the direction of the new voice to see Captain Falcon standing tall with his feet firmly planted in the grass. He had a strong finger pointed directly at Chrom for some reason and he looked rather pissed.

"Captain Falcon!?" replied Lucina in surprise.

"Who are you?" asked Chrom, drawing his sword in front of him.

Falcon puffed out his chest and rubbed his index finger across the underside of his nose. He had an unusually large grin on his face, the kind that he showed off when he was feeling confident in himself in a brawl.

"Step away from the lady, monster!" he shouted. "If you come quietly, I promise to only break your legs!"

Lucina immediately realized what Falcon was talking about and put her hands up in defense.

"Wait, Captain Falcon!" she pleaded. "This man is no monster, he's my-"

But she was silenced when the feeling of cold steel penetrated her abdomen, stabbing through the weak points in her armor with ease. Her eyes went wide with shock, and her face drained into a sickly pale color as she turned in the direction of her assaulter. Chrom yanked the blade out of her ribcage, causing a stream of blood to pour out of her and paint the grass crimson. Lucina fell to her knees, staring up into the eyes of the man she thought she could trust.

"Father…" she muttered, blood dripping down her lips. "I…"

"_Foolish girl_…" replied Chrom, although it didn't sound anything like her real father. It sounded much more distorted and nothing close human. "…_Did you really believe you could fool me that easily?_" His eyes became a beet red, and he appeared to have sprouted black wings and a pair of elongated horns on his head. His tongue became snakelike, and he seemed to grow fangs as he glared down at the broken girl before him. "_I am the wings of despair, and I will have life once again_." He reeled back, preparing the plunge the Falchion into her face. "_I shall start by taking yourssss!_"

"Not on my watch you bastard!" cried a heroic voice. "Falcon Kick!"

Falcon zoomed straight for Chrom, scorching a path through the ground as he flew. His flaming foot collided with Chrom's side, launching the swordsman into the air, but he was quick to recover thanks to his new-grown wings.

"_Pathetic human_," taunted the demon. "_Your feeble attacks cannot harm me. The Fell Dragon cannot be toppled_."

"I don't know who the hell you are and I don't give a damn!" responded Falcon. "You're going to pay for what you did to Lucina! Come on!"

Falcon sprinted towards the creature, but Lucina didn't even make a reaction. She just sat there on the ground beaten, betrayed, and honestly scared for her life that Chrom had actually been Grima in disguise this whole time. The entire world around her suddenly became desolate and barren, as if she had stumbled upon some kind of post-apocalyptic Ylisse. All of the luscious grass had been reduced to dirt and stone, and the trees became all withered and dead. The horses were now rotting piles of meat on the ranch, and the house itself was broken and smoking like it had barely survived a bomb blast. Rising fires could be seeing growing in the distance, and the once beautiful countryside had been reduced to nothing but a wasteland. The little girl and her horse were lying as a pile of bones in the outer field.

Falcon didn't seem to notice this drastic change in scenery, however, as he continued charging at the flying foe above.

"Falcon Dive!" he shouted as he leaped up into the air.

Grima was quick to respond and promptly shifted out of the way before slamming Falcon in the back with his sword. Falcon landed on the ground but quickly summersaulted back into a standing position.

"_Tiny human, you have no power in this realm_," said Grima as he conjured a dark pulse of energy in his hand. "_Be gone!_" He fired the projectile towards Falcon's position, but he was agile enough to barely dodge out of the way. The resulting blast ended up creating a crater in the earth's surface.

"I got all the power I need right _here_!" replied Falcon as he stuck up a middle finger in the demon's direction. "Why don't you come down here so we can settle this like men!"

Grima chuckled and floated down to the ground, swinging his sword in a threatening manner.

"_Fool_," he said. "_I am no man_."

He charged at Falcon with incredible speed, slashing him across the chest with a force that was nearly blinding. Falcon cried in pain, but he regained his footing and began darting back and forth in the dirt.

"I ain't afraid of you, you horny freak!" retorted Falcon. He dashed right, and then left, and then to the left yet again, bluffing the enemy with his fancy footwork. "Here's a little greeting card complimentary of the Super Smash Bros.!" He dashed to the side of the monster and lunged toward him. "Falcon PAWNCH!"

The force of the blow knocked Grima clean off of his feet, and the demon was set flying several yards away into a pile of broken tree wood. Falcon quickly skidded to a stop before cracking his knuckles triumphantly.

"Show me your moves, BITCH!"

As if on cue, Grima rose from the pile of wood into the sky, but not in the human form of Chrom. No, instead the Fell Dragon spread its large unholy wings, and roared with a booming hatred that actually caused Falcon to flinch in his boots. The dragon form turned out to be bigger than Falcon would have expected, and it seemed to block out the entire sun (or whatever was left of the sun anyway). Thunder and lightning began clapping in the atmosphere, and soon the entire area had been painted in a cloud of darkness. Lucina could only watch in horror as her ultimate nightmare was finally coming to life right before her own eyes.

Falcon was actually hesitant to follow up with that insult he just threw.

"Um…" he muttered. "I think now would be a good time to leave."

Suddenly, a zombified hand sprung out of the ground and grabbed Falcon's ankle. He fought and kicked back until the hand finally let go, but not before an entire body had risen out of the ground. The creature seemed to be dressed in mercenary armor, but its skin was rotting and chewed to pieces by worms. It began moaning like some sort of undead monster from a low budget horror flick as it lifted up its rusted axe and began approaching the racer.

"Zombies," said Falcon with a shake of head. "You gotta be kidding me."

The Risen warrior lunged at the racer, but Falcon was quick to retaliate with a Falcon Kick. More bodies began rising out of the ground thereafter, and Falcon actually took a second to calculate how long it would take for him to kill them all, but the cry of his dear friend told him otherwise.

"Captain Falcon!"

Falcon glanced towards the ranch to see Lucina collapsed on the ground like before, only this time those zombie creatures were closing in on her position fast. She managed to dodge a sword swing with a roll and retaliate with a swift kick that sent the creature propelling back into one of its comrades, but she was being quickly overrun. She tried crawling away as fast as she could, however, with a wound as deep as the one Grima had given her, there was no way in hell she was going to escape.

"Hold on!" replied Falcon. "I gotcha!"

The racer sprinted up to one of the creatures and delivered a Raptor Boost uppercut to it, tearing its head off its body. He immediately followed up on another monster with his so-called "Knee of Justice" (a fan favorite among the Smashers of the mansion) and then took care of one more with a powerful Smash Attack. More Risen started to close in on their position, and Falcon knew there would be no time to fight them all. Instead, he quickly offered a hand to Lucina, but she ended up gazing up at him hesitantly.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied as she tried to get up, but the pain in her torso was proving to be a bit too much for her to handle.

"Well pardon me then!"

"Wait, what are you—WAH!"

The next thing she knew, Lucina had been swept off her feet into the arms of Captain Douglas J. Falcon. She cringed at the sting of pain surging through her body on contact, but she knew this was the only way they would be able to escape this hellhole.

"Let's go," said Falcon seriously before he dashed off in the direction of the house.

Meanwhile, Grima was still screeching and summoning undead warriors from the ground. Several colored lightning bolts began striking randomly all over the place, forcing Falcon to dodge left and right, not to mention the fact that zombies were approaching them hastily from the south.

"Damn, those things are faster than they look!" he exclaimed as he dodged a low-flying spear.

"Don't underestimate them," replied Lucina as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck. It was at that moment she realized that Captain Falcon had actually somehow managed to make it into her dream, but nevertheless, this was something she was going to have to ask him about later… provided they made it out of this mess alive.

Soon enough, Falcon made it to the house, carefully placing Lucina back on her feet. She stumbled for a bit, but she maintained her balance by grabbing the wall. In a flash, Lucina tore the cape off her back, twisting it into a thick rope before wrapping it securely around her waist to stop the bleeding.

"We can't fight the Risen," she said as she fearfully watched the approaching horde of zombie soldiers, more of them starting to break out of the earth. "We're outnumbered one hundred to two."

Falcon scanned across the army of creatures, noticing the Fell Dragon rising higher and higher into the black sky. Indeed, it looked like all hope was lost, but thankfully Falcon had one final trick up his sleeve.

"No," he replied. "One hundred to one."

In a matter of seconds, the racer removed his helmet, and hastily set it atop Lucina's head.

"Hey, what are you-"

But she didn't even get a chance to respond because Falcon had put a finger over her lips before she could finish her sentence. The world around her seemed much darker now, for the lens of the helmet tinted everything in a blacker shade. She did notice, however, some of Falcon's sharp facial features, and she never would have guessed for him to be the kind of guy to have brown ragged hair. He was giving her that childish smirk again.

"Watch your head in there," he said before opening the door to the beaten house and shoving Lucina inside. She immediately fell to the floor in the shack due to her wounds, but realized what Falcon was trying to do upon contact.

"No! Captain Falcon!" she cried. She tried to pull herself to her feet but Falcon had promptly slammed the door shut before she could do anything. "CAPTAIN FALCON!"

She pulled herself up to the door and tried opening it, only to realize that the door was locked. She began desperately yanking and pulling on the knob, but stopped when she noticed that the door itself had completely changed. The old rundown door had suddenly been replaced with a sturdier mahogany version, and it bore a striking resemblance to that of the doors in the mansion. She quickly turned around, noticing that she was no longer standing in an old beaten up shack on a ranch in Ylisse, but in her own dorm room at Smash Mansion. It was nighttime, but it was hard to tell how late in the evening it had become. All of her belongings were exactly where she had left them, and even the balcony window was letting in some light by the moon.

She was still wearing Captain Falcon's helmet.

Lucina collapsed to the floor, leaning her back against the door of her room. She was still bleeding from Grima's assault, but the pain in her torso did not feel nearly as bad as the pain in her heart. With shivering arms, she pulled Falcon's helmet off of her head and held it in front of her, staring through the visor, hoping that Falcon could somehow materialize into his helmet as if he were a piece of a whole that had been long forgotten in a dream. After a few seconds of silence, she could feel tears running down her cheeks, and she bit her lip with such force that it almost caused her mouth to bleed.

"Captain Falcon…"

She hugged the helmet close to her body and wept over the loss of her dear friend. It wasn't until the sun began to peak over the horizon that she finally fell asleep.


	19. Tourney Halt

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you to squish13, SPN027, Greywolfian, Hahli Nuva, Varanus K, F-ZeroSamus, pokemonrhoades, MahNati, Gamerfan64, prowessMaster44, crazycarl364, Dapper Dee VI, Pitta, Namgum, Digilady99, marshmallow-princess and Aurawarrior13 for reviewing! Also, extra special thanks to marshmallow-princess for pointing out the technical error back in chapter 5. Apparently, I had written something along the lines of Lucina holding her nose and humming at the same time. It turns out that holding your breath and trying to hum is nearly impossible (go ahead and try it, I dare you!) so I've gone back and replaced that small issue with something more suiting. Thank you as well to the anonymous reviewers for clarifying some of Awakening's "plot holes" to me. I can live with the thought of both the past and present timelines existing in parallel universes.

* * *

Chapter 19: Tourney Halt

* * *

Wednesday morning was probably one of the laziest weekday mornings in the history of the Smash Bros. tournaments. Simply put, most of the Smashers had slept in due to all of the crazy partying that had taken place in the night prior, thus an overextended breakfast had to be held in order to compensate. It wasn't normal for the Smashers to have a late brunch to kick off the day, but it wasn't like this was anything new to them anyway. The Smashers who did not attend the party ended up having breakfast scheduled at the normal time, so when Ike entered the dining hall at about 11:00, he wasn't surprised to see a lot of the Smashers from last night eating and conversing amongst themselves. Some were in worse shape than others, but otherwise, today was just going to be another normal day of matches.

"Hey Ike! Come sit over here!" called Mario from the far end of the table.

Ike glanced ahead to see the red plumber sitting with Zero Suited Samus, Meta Knight, Pit, and Mr. Game and Watch, with a few other Smashers sitting and talking at some places in between such as the Zelda crew (minus Ganondorf), Olimar (who was looking a little uneasy), Sonic, Fox, Yoshi, Kirby, and the DK duo. Meanwhile, a bunch of Waddle Dees were bustling back and forth like they always did picking up plates, cleaning, or serving food. One such creature waltzed up to Ike and handed him a tray full of breakfast food, which half consisted of some leftovers from the other night (he actually got an extra serving of chicken). Ike casually made his way over to the group while at the same time saying good morning to everyone before sitting down in between Mario and Samus, while the other three Smashers lined the opposite side of the table.

"So, how's everybody doing?" he asked, pouring himself a glass of milk.

"A little tired, but not too bad," replied Pit optimistically. "That was one crazy party last night!"

"Tell me about it," said Samus as she stirred her mug of coffee with a teaspoon. "I've never seen you move those legs so fast."

"Is there any other way to dance?"

"Apparently so according to King Dedede," mumbled Meta Knight.

Game and Watch rubbed the back of his head where he had fallen when Dedede shoved him. The poor guy didn't even get a chance to dance with Lucina like he wanted to.

"Also, is it just me, or was anyone else surprised that Marth could play the bass?" asked Pit.

"He said he only started picking it up last year," replied Ike. "The whole show turned out great if you ask me. What about you, Mario?"

"I was not at the party," said Mario in response. "I was too busy beating up Bowser in the tournament."

"Beep beep?" asked Game and Watch.

"Oh yes, of course I won!" replied Mario. "Bowser is no big deal for me. We've fought a bunch of times before. He has a tendency to takes things personally."

"Probably because it was you," chuckled Ike. "Bad guys never change, do they?"

"BEEP."

"Anyway Ike," said Samus all of a sudden before taking a sip of her coffee. "Did you sleep well?"

"It was alright. Although I had the craziest dream…"

"Really?" asked Pit, through a mouthful of toast and eggs. Game and Watch snuck a hand onto Pit's plate to grab an extra helping of the bacon, but the white angel didn't seem to notice. The 2D man wasn't subtle about it, however, as every movement he made seemed to generate some sort of pixelated sound, which Meta Knight caught onto and promptly slapped his hand away.

The Star Warrior himself didn't have any food in front of him. As a matter of fact, no one could ever recall seeing Meta Knight eat anything while he was at the mansion. He more or less joined his fellow brawlers for breakfast just for the company, but there were rumors going around that he lived on a secret stash of candy he kept under the bed in his room…

"Yeah, I don't really know how to explain it," said Ike as he picked at the meat on his plate. "I just remember it being hard to see… And Shulk was there… And Captain Falcon."

"BEEP, BEEP beep?" asked Game and Watch casually as he cocked his head to the side frame by frame.

"I haven't seen him since the party," replied Pit. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think Captain Falcon even went to the party!"

"Yeah, we already went over this," muttered Samus. "Falcon didn't show up even though it was his job to invite Lucina. We're lucky she followed Diddy Kong's trail of breadcrumbs, otherwise who knows how long we would have waited for her."

"You mean trail of banana peels?"

"Same thing."

"So no one knows where he went then?" asked Ike seriously. "That's strange…" Truthfully, Ike was curious as to why Falcon would pass up a chance to hang out with Lucina, especially when he was so adamant about delivering her invitation in the first place. Even more peculiar was the fact that none of the Smashers who went to that party seemed to know of his whereabouts at all.

"Knowing him, he's bound to show up sooner or later," said Mario reassuringly. "He has a way with surprising us when we least expect it."

Just as the Italian plumber was about to take a chomp out of his stewed tomatoes, a robotic hand reached out from behind and tapped his shoulder. The Smashers all turned around to see R.O.B. standing behind Mario with the same blank look in his eyes like there always was.

"Good morning, Mario," said the robot politely, although his monotonous voice barely had any feeling behind it. "I am sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but I require your assistance in the hospital wing. Please come with me."

Ike exchanged an uneasy glance with Meta Knight, while Mario retained a rather confused expression.

"Is it urgent?" he asked. "Does Robin need something?"

"It is not Robin," replied the robot before turning around and shuffling towards the exit.

Mario turned to his friends, who all seemed to be as dumbfounded as he was. He immediately put down his utensils and got up, saying an "Excuse me," before leaving the room. The five friends at the end of the table remained silent for a few seconds as they wondered what on earth R.O.B. could possibly have been referring to by his last statement. The silence was broken when Mr. Game and Watch casually grabbed Mario's plate and poured the leftovers onto his own, where he then began chowing down.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" asked Pit curiously. His question was more directed at Ike and Samus, but Meta Knight sat by with his eyes closed looking like he was contemplating something.

"I'm not sure," replied Samus. "But from the sound of it, it can't be good."

"You don't suppose…" mumbled Ike as he and the bounty huntress made eye contact with each other. Both of their eyes widened upon the realization that they were thinking the exact same thing, and that thing in particular definitely had to do with a certain Ylissean princess. The two Smashers got up from the table, not even bothering to finish whatever food they had left in front of them.

"Do not be so hasty," said Meta Knight, putting his hand up. "The answer you seek may reveal itself sooner than you think."

"What?"

"It's my fault!" shouted a familiar voice from behind. Samus felt a scrawny hand grab her leg, causing her to flinch on contact. The Smashers all turned to see Olimar standing on the chair next to Samus' seat and holding onto her limb, pulling her away from wherever she was trying to go.

"Olimar, let go of me!" she replied, breaking free from the small man's grasp, but Olimar didn't seem fazed at all. He began shaking his fists anxiously, as if he was thinking about unleashing a secret he had been keeping for far too long.

"I should have done something!" he cried. "I could have saved him! But no, I had to sit back and play bystander like I always do!"

"Could have saved who?" asked Ike. "What are you talking about?"

"Captain Falcon!" exclaimed the short man. "He took the Dream Tap!"

Ike and Samus stared at the short man uneasily, while Meta Knight simply nodded his head. Meanwhile, Pit had a nervous expression on his face as Olimar began explaining what happened last night at Wario's bar, albeit frantically. The Smashers soon learned exactly where Falcon had been during the night of the party, but his reasons for doing so were still unknown to them. Game and Watch was content with eating, but took the time to listen to what the spaceman had to say anyway. It wasn't until after Olimar had finished telling his story that the Smashers realized R.O.B.'s sudden appearance in the dining room was related to Falcon's mysterious disappearance yesterday.

* * *

By the time Lucina had awoken, cleaned up, reapplied her bandages, and pulled on the spare set of blue armor the Waddle Dees had delivered to her after the second encounter, Captain Falcon had already been delivered from his room to the hospital wing. She had accidentally left another trail of blood in her room, but she was more thankful by the fact that Grima had somehow missed her vitals when he stabbed her in the dream world. She was able to patch herself up thanks to an emergency vulnerary she kept in her cabinet, but the pain would still make itself apparent if she made any sudden movements. She did her best to remain inconspicuous however, and was gracious to see the Duck Hunt Duo still snoozing in the hallway at 11:30 in the morning.

Unbeknownst to most of the Smashers, Duck Hunt actually consisted of three characters, the third one in particular being a seemingly invisible sniper that neither spoke nor interacted with any of the other Smashers unless it was during combat. Had she been aware of this, she may have maneuvered with a little more caution.

With Captain Falcon's helmet tucked under her arm, she made her way to his room only to find a group of Waddle Dees cleaning up his mess of a place. This in itself was not an unusual sight as Falcon was one of the few Smashers notorious for keeping an untidy room. The small servants were kind enough to point Lucina in the right direction, informing her that the man she sought had been relocated to a more secure and hospitable area.

She began speed-walking in the direction of the mansion's hospital wing, silently praying that she wouldn't run into any other Smashers for fear that they would question her about something for whatever reason. She was just hoping that Falcon was alright, but ultimately, she dreaded the thought of Master Hand confronting her one last time about this issue. With her sword taken away and a temporary suspension from the tournament, there was no telling what insane punishment that hand would throw upon her next. Maybe he would move her room to a doghouse outside? Or perhaps she would have to go three weeks without dinner? The more she thought about it, the more she realized how different Master Hand had been acting since the start of the nightmarish happenings, but Falcon's safety was still her top priority this morning.

As she swiftly rounded a corner, she immediately bumped right into a certain Homs boy who was making his way to the training room for some practice. Of course, the two Smashers ended up colliding with each other in the halls, and the next thing either one of them knew, both of them had been knocked clean off their feet and onto their butts. Lucina bit her tongue to hold back the stinging pain of the sword wound in her torso. She scrambled to grab the dropped helmet.

"Beg pardon, Shulk," said Lucina hastily as she pulled herself to her feet.

Shulk didn't even have any time to react before the princess had offered her hand to him and helped him up.

"Oh, Lucina," he said, a bit of a surprised expression on his face. "I was looking for you. What's the rush all of a sudden? And why do you have Captain Falcon's helmet?"

"I'm sorry, I have no time to explain," she replied, drifting past him and continuing on her course.

"Hey wait, hold on a second!" Shulk quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her from going, but the princess aggressively pulled free from his grasp. "Lucina…"

"Please, forgive me."

She began leaving again, this time increasing her footsteps, but Shulk was a persistent fellow. He soon found himself speed-walking at the same pace as her, although it was kind of awkward because he had to keep checking ahead to ensure he wasn't running into something while talking to her.

"Do you mind filling me in here?" he asked seriously. "Did something happen last night?"

"Yes," she replied, figuring that if he was going to stick with her, he may as well be updated on the situation. "I had another nightmare."

The two swiftly darted past a pair of Waddle Dees who were dusting some vases, almost knocking them over in the process.

"What was it this time?"

"It…" Lucina paused, recalling the horrifying image of her father stabbing her with his own sword. She had to remember that it wasn't Chrom who had been standing with her in that field, but the one creature that she feared the most in her days growing up. Not to mention, every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Captain Falcon standing there, slamming the door on her face. "…It was what I had feared this whole time. I need to find Robin and Captain Falcon."

"Was Captain Falcon not in his room?"

"He wasn't, but I think I know where he might be."

The two friends continued on their trek to the hospital wing, passing by a few other Smashers along the way who were either chatting or playing around. Little Mac didn't get so much as a "Good morning" from either Shulk or Lucina, but he shrugged it off and was back to punching the living daylights out of a sandbag. At one point, Sonic had actually jogged alongside them asking if they were having a race (multiple times) and wanted to see if he could join. Of course, the Ylissean and the Homs had no choice but to dismiss this idea. When they passed King Dedede, he had tossed a bouncing Gordo their way in order to get back at Lucina for snubbing him during the party, but thankfully the two Smashers were quick enough to outrun the thing. The spikey ball ended up colliding with a Waddle Dee who was setting up new wallpaper on a stepladder, promptly knocking it over and causing it to tear off a large portion of the wall. Master Hand wasn't going to be happy about that.

Eventually, the pair made it to their destination. Without any further hesitation, Shulk opened the door to Robin's hospital room (rather forcefully for some reason), causing Robin to look up at attention from the book he was reading.

"Thanks for knocking," he said sarcastically, slamming his book shut with a single motion from his hand.

"Sorry, got kind of carried away there," replied Shulk.

Lucina noticed that the other bed in the room was now occupied by a certain helmetless F-Zero racer, who was sound asleep beneath warm and white blankets.

"Captain Falcon…" she said quietly, making her way over to his bed. She set the helmet down on his nightstand and put a hand over his forehead. He was still warm, his breathing slow and consistent. She couldn't help but notice however that he had a peculiar lined scar going across his left eye.

"They brought him in just this morning," said Robin from his bed. "He seemed alright to me; he's just out cold is all."

"And what about you?" asked Shulk.

"Me? I'm surprisingly fine. I don't know any healing spells, but the magic coursing through my body has really helped with my recovery. Dr. Mario was actually at a loss for words when he found out this morning since he was certain my condition was worse in its initial stages. I'll be happy when I can finally be rid of this hospital gown. More importantly, Lucina, how was your sleep last night?"

Lucina didn't seem to notice Robin's question as she was too preoccupied staring at Falcon. She couldn't comprehend what could cause him to fall into such a deep slumber. Did he die in her dream? Or was he still alive somehow, trapped in an inescapable prison? And on that note, she was all the more puzzled as to how Falcon had stumbled upon her dream in the first place.

Regardless of what she was thinking, it still agitated Robin how she was ignoring him in favor of the clumsy Blue Falcon pilot, so he found himself raising his voice a bit in order to get her attention.

"Lucina!"

Lucina glanced up at him with a look that resembled a teenager who had been caught trespassing on private property. She promptly took her hand away from Falcon's head and rounded the bed in order to reach Robin on the other side of the room, Shulk also standing by.

"Forgive me, Robin," she said, shaking her head. "It was a long day for me yesterday. I'm a little out of it this morning."

"So I heard," he replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. He gave a short glance towards the Homs, realizing that as long as Shulk was there, he wouldn't be able to continue his intimate conversation with Lucina from the other day. "From the sound it, I'd say you had a pretty good time at that party."

"We wish you could have come," said Shulk positively.

"No matter," said Robin. "Parties aren't really my thing anyway. I made the best of a bad situation here by myself in the hospital wing." He lightly gestured to the book on his lap. "Did they play my song for you?"

"Oh yes, they did," replied Lucina, trying her best to conjure up a smile. "It was beautiful. Thank you so much for requesting that for me."

"Think nothing of it; it was the least I could do in order to help lift your spirit." He glanced over at the Smasher in the other bed before turning back to his two companions. "Now, do you mind telling me why Falcon is not feeling his usual rambunctious self today?"

Lucina was hesitant to respond as the images from the fifth encounter began replaying themselves in her head again. There was so much to talk about, but she didn't really know where to begin.

"I suppose it goes without saying," she began, "that I had another bad dream last night."

She then started telling the tale (from what she could recollect anyway) of how the fifth encounter went. She recalled falling asleep and waking up in some kind of blank void, with not a single soul around her. It was there where she found her father, who brought her on a journey to the past to when she was a little girl training on a ranch in Ylisse. Chrom had made mentions to her about how her emotions affected the course of the dreams, explaining that it was because of her supportive friends that he was able to contact her in her time of need. The warm meeting didn't last long however, before Captain Falcon showed up and Chrom swiftly turned against her with his own blade. Grima revealed himself as the true ruler behind the nightmares and promptly summoned a horde of Risen to attack the two Smashers. In a valiant effort, Falcon had tossed Lucina's crippled body into the rundown shack of a building, where she then found herself back in reality. Falcon's body may have been fine sleeping in the real world, but there was no telling where his mind had gone after the encounter with the Risen.

As she finished the last of her story, Robin could only sit and stare in disbelief. Never in his life would he have expected the Fell Dragon to resurrect itself (especially not after the dragon had supposedly been defeated at the hands of him and Chrom previously). He didn't understand why Grima would choose to come back now of all times, especially when Ylisse was in an entirely different realm from where they currently were.

"So you're certain that it was Grima?" asked Robin curiously.

"I'm positive," replied Lucina. "Grima has returned, and he is using my dreams as a vessel of sorts. I'm also sure that it was him who summoned those horrifying creatures in my nightmares this past week."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," said Shulk all of a sudden. "But who exactly is this Grima?"

Robin took a deep breath, remembering the fear and tragedy that the Fell Dragon had unleashed on the kingdom back in his Shepherd days (which honestly wasn't even that long ago).

"Grima is the bringer of death in our realm," he explained. "Legend tells of a great king who took up the exalted blade and banished Grima and his minions into oblivion. Marth is supposedly the king who led our ancestors into that battle, but if you were to ask him about it now, he would have no recollection of such a thing. Anyway, it is written that the Fell Dragon cannot be awakened unless a specific ritual is performed. If Grima truly has returned, then that can only mean that someone has brought him back using a force of great darkness. And… if the dragon resides within Lucina's head like she is saying, then that means someone here must have awakened him. Once he has been awakened, Grima has full control over his body and powers, but right now he seems to be in some sort of premature state… well according to Lucina."

"That is correct," she replied. "I have a feeling that Grima is not at full power yet. He is leeching off of my own body, using my fears as a source of his energy. This is why I think he is the one responsible for spawning those creatures in my dreams, as a way of instilling fear in me and distorting my emotions."

"I see…" mumbled Shulk as he pondered on the situation. "Oh, that reminds me. I meant to tell you this morning that I had another vision last night."

"You did?"

"Yes, but it was… a little foggy. You were in it though, Lucina, as well as Captain Falcon. I… couldn't tell what you two were doing from the angle I was at."

Lucina felt her face heat up a bit as he said those last words, Robin's ear twitching ever so slightly. Talking about Falcon like that almost made her feel embarrassed. It wasn't like the two Smashers _had_ anything special together, unlike her and Robin. Still, Robin wasn't too pleased with the way Shulk described his vision.

"Could you be a little more specific, Shulk?" he asked curiously.

"Oh no, that's quite alright," insisted Lucina. "We should focus on the problem at hand here."

"That's it," said Shulk dismissively. "I couldn't tell where you were or anything. It was too dark to see."

Too dark to see, huh? Yeah, Robin was starting to get that agitated feeling all over again.

"When will the vision take place?" he asked as he sat up.

"Who's to say that it could?" interjected Lucina. "Surely Shulk's visions don't come true all the time."

"Well, they usually do," replied Shulk with a laugh, causing Lucina to give Robin an uneasy glance. "In any case, that's all I saw. I found it kind of peculiar anyway since the Monado only grants me visions whenever an important—usually life-changing—event takes pla-"

"Good morning, Smashers," said a familiar voice from the room entrance. The three friends turned in the direction of the voice to see Master Hand casually float into the room. Lucina immediately braced herself for fear that the hand was going to go off on another one of his tangents. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"G-Good morning, sir," replied Lucina hastily. "And no, please don't worry about it."

"Good morning," chimed Shulk and Robin in unison.

The large hand carelessly maneuvered past Falcon's bed, giving him a quick glance before facing the Smashers. The problem with talking to Master Hand was that it was nearly impossible for anyone to tell what he was thinking unless he spoke first. This of course, usually led to some awkward conversation starters when a Smasher would mistake him for being either happy, sad, or angry.

In any case, it was usually a smarter idea to let him break the ice.

"I'm going to be straight to the point with you three," he said seriously, "even though this was supposed to be directed at Lucina."

His sudden change in tone immediately took the three friends off guard completely. Not only was Master Hand pissed off with the girl, but he didn't even try to get the other Smashers to leave the room. This likely meant that whatever he was about to tell them was going to be relayed to the other Smashers in the mansion at some point eventually. Lucina was just nervous because she had directly gone against Master Hand's will to stay in her room until further notice. Not only that, but the Smashers had recently thrown a giant party for her, which she was fairly certain he had been knocked out cold during for some reason.

"May I say something in my defense beforehand?" asked Lucina hopefully.

"Huh. You don't even know what I'm about to say," replied the hand casually.

"I have a feeling."

"There are a number of problems that have recently made themselves known during the course of this tournament. First of all, Lucina and Robin, both of you have been suspended from the tournament, but now it looks like we have a third member joining that 'club.'" Master Hand gestured towards Falcon, who was still sleeping soundly in the nearby bed. "A little birdie told me that Captain Falcon had fallen victim to a mischievous drug known as the 'Dream Tap.' For those of you who don't know, Dream Tap is and forever shall be a forbidden substance on the mansion property. The details about what the drug does are of no concern to you. All you and the other Smashers need to know is that Captain Falcon will be out for a long while. This brings me to my second point. Apparently, some troublemakers thought it would be a good idea to slip some Dream Tap into my tea so that I wouldn't notice your little party. Lucina, you had been ordered to stay away from all of the Smashers until a cure for your sickness could be determined."

"I've told you before, I am not sick," she interjected seriously. "And I am not crazy. The fact that Captain Falcon is lying there in that state should be proof enough that something supernatural is occurring with my dreams." She took a step forward and raised a fist in front of her chest. "I've just learned the true meaning behind these nightmares last night. If I could just have my sword-"

"Please let me finish," said the hand, making a "stop" sign with his body.

"Sir, I can assure you she is telling the truth," interrupted Robin. "If you won't believe her, then believe me or any of the other residents in this mansion when I say that Lucina is innocent and she has done nothing wrong to sabotage the tournament or harm her friends."

Despite how calmly he handled that, Master Hand ignored Robin's remark. At the end of the day, Lucina and the other Smashers still broke a lot of the ground rules that he had so carefully organized by himself.

"To go against regulations," continued the hand, tapping his fingers in midair. "That is something I simply cannot tolerate. Even Crazy Hand has been disciplined for the chaotic mess he caused in the ballroom yesterday." This "punishment" likely included cataloguing the Items or Trophies in one way or another. "Thus, in order to ensure that this loss of control does not happen again, all of you are going to have to be punished."

"You're serious!?" replied Shulk, almost in disbelief. In truth, neither Robin nor Lucina could believe it either. Master Hand had been known for going over the deep end from time to time, but this was starting to get ridiculous.

"The tournament is to be placed on suspension until further notice. From this day forward, the stages will be shut down and become unusable. As such, all scheduled matches from here on in will be put to a halt and resumed once everyone is back into the fighting spirit. Maybe then you will think twice before crossing me."

"Shut down?..." muttered Lucina disheartened. Now she was beginning to feel guilty all over again. First her friends, now the entire tournament was going on suspension all because of a series of unfortunate events that she honestly had no way of controlling.

"You're insane," said Robin all of a sudden. "You're willing to close down the tournament and have the company lose money all on account of the Smashers trying to enjoy themselves?"

"It's not that simple," replied Master Hand calmly. "I cannot afford to have you all running around like sugar-high children. This is a corporation, and in a corporation there must be order. Whether you like it or not is no concern of mine. You all have the luxury of living here in the mansion, free of all expenses and pampered to your hearts' content. The least you could do is follow the rules every once in a while."

"This isn't fair at all," retorted Shulk. "You're only doing this because of what happened to Captain Falcon!"

"Hold everything," said the hand, again, making the halting gesture. "Captain Falcon's problem is something unique on its own. He partook in a substance that is banned on the premises, a substance that is so dangerous it can easily cause death if one isn't careful. I thought we had gotten rid of all traces of the drug after the Brawl tournament, but it seems that misfit Wario has brought them back somehow. In any case, if I catch any one of you ingesting the Dream Tap, you will permanently be disqualified from the tournament and all other future tournaments in the Super Smash Brothers. Do I make myself clear?"

"Don't do this," replied Lucina seriously. "Not to them at least. If you are going to punish anyone, then it should be me."

"Lucina!" said Robin.

"All of the events Master Hand described involve me at the very core," she continued, ignoring Robin's plea. "Nightmares, parties, Robin and Captain Falcon's conditions. I have had a direct influence on all of these. But honestly, there should be no reason to punish anyone in the first place. Master Hand, how is it that for an all-knowing being, you yourself fail to realize there are larger things at stake here than the tournament?"

Of course, she was referring to Grima's return, but the hand didn't seem fazed at all by her protest.

"Do not mistake me from being a cruel leader," said Master Hand.

"Could have fooled me…" muttered Robin.

"I am willing to accept the thought that you, Lucina, are not responsible for the strange happenings these past few nights. You see yourself as the victim, yet you refuse to concur with my methods of protecting you."

"You are not protecting me," she said with a stern look. "You are condemning me."

"Be as that may seem, it doesn't look like I can sway your opinion of me anymore. Thus, I have concluded that the only way to regain your trust is to return what rightfully belongs to you."

The hand snapped his fingers, and in an instance, Lucina's Falchion appeared before her, emanating a glowing aura about it. Lucina stared at the blade somewhat mesmerized, but confused all the same as to why he would offer her something he had previously tried so hard to confiscate.

"Is this?..." she stuttered.

"Your sword," replied the hand. "Seeing as how you would rather face your problems on your own, you might as well do it as a swordsman."

"I never said that," she said, taking the blade by the hilt. "But thank you."

"Don't thank him," spat Robin with a shake of his head. "These new rules he's imposing are utterly ridiculous."

"What are we supposed to do now with the tournament on hold?" asked Shulk.

"Make yourselves busy I suppose," replied Master Hand nonchalantly. "In any case, the tournament will not resume unless Lucina, Robin, and Captain Falcon are back on their feet and able to fight. I pray that nothing else will happen to any of the other Smashers while this is going on as well."

With that, the hand turned around and promptly headed out of the room. Chances are he was going to spread the unfortunate word about the tournament to the other Smashers, but it still bothered Shulk how he didn't have the decency to say good-bye.

It seemed that Lucina wasn't the only one going through hard times.

"Can you believe him?" asked Robin, although the question came out more as a statement. "Honestly, putting a stop to the tournament just because of a party? I've never heard of anything so immature!"

"I don't know what to make of it," replied Shulk dismissively. "Had I known _this_ was the way he acted around company assets, I never would have signed up for this. He put on a good mask back at the interview."

"He's not like this though. That's not what I heard from the veteran fighters anyway."

"Maybe he's starting to lose his touch?"

"Maybe… What do you think Lucina?" Robin glanced up at the girl who had her back turned to him. "Lucina?"

But she didn't respond; she was too busy staring at her reflection in the blade of her Falchion. Lucina hadn't really taken a notice of it before in the morning (or any of the other mornings for that matter), but for some reason the color in the blade made some of the markings on her face really stand out. More specifically, she noticed that she still had that cut along her cheek that she received from the first encounter.

She was starting to bleed again.


	20. Yoga Time!

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 20: Yoga Time!

* * *

"Before we get started, it is always best to warm up with some stretches and deep-breathing exercises." Wii Fit Trainer began twisting from side to side, stretching her limbs on the yoga mat before the two Smashers. "One, two, three, hold. And… One, two, three, hold."

Palutena gave a quick wink in Lucina's direction before mimicking the trainer's movements. Lucina also soon fell in sync with the exercises, although she was still a bit out of it due to all of the thoughts coursing through her mind.

With the tournament put to a halt, all of the Smashers now had free time to do whatever it was that they normally did during off-hours. This didn't change the fact that Lucina had a commitment to her weekly yoga exercises with Wii Fit Trainer. Despite Crazy Hand's complaints, most of the Smashers didn't seem very bothered by the tournament stoppage. All this meant for them was that there would no longer be any access to the stages, but the training room was always open to any guests. The only Smasher who ever really spent a lot of time there anyway was Little Mac (and occasionally Meta Knight or Marth). The weight room was a separate room in the mansion entirely, and used for recreational purposes. Wii Fit Trainer usually had daily scheduled yoga activities with some of the Smashers, and Wednesday just so happened to be Lucina and Palutena's yoga day.

"Reach up to the stars, relax yourself," said Wii Fit Trainer as she balanced into the Tree yoga position. "Let the oxygen flow through you and give you strength, just as it does for the many trees of the great forest."

A song that Olimar would recognize as "The Distant Spring" continued playing the background on a small radio player near Wii Fit Trainer. The music was calming and meant to release tension in the body. Lucina had to admit that it was somewhat relaxing, but she could hardly take notice of it anyway as she tried to balance herself on one foot while putting her hands into a "tipi" above her head. Thankfully, she was wearing some gym clothes that consisted of a navy blue t-shirt and dark grey yoga pants. A trusty headband was fitted around her head to help maintain the sweat, but she couldn't believe how worked up she was getting in such a preliminary exercise. She glanced at her traditional blue armor that was folded off to the side of the weight room, along with her Falchion that was leaning against the wall.

"I am one with the forest!" exclaimed Palutena, raising her head high and taking a deep breath. She couldn't help but fall into a fit of laughter after that statement. Unlike Lucina, Palutena was still dressed in her iconic goddess robes (she could just make the sweat "disappear" if she really wanted to), although she also had a white headband around her head that kind of clashed with her emerald hair.

"One with the forest…" muttered Lucina as she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, her bare foot planted firmly on the soft mat below. The music filling her ears was very soothing and she could feel it start to clear up her cloudy head.

Sometime after her meeting with Master Hand in Robin's hospital room, Ike and a few other Smashers had stumbled upon the scene to discover Captain Falcon in his coma state. They soon learned about his unfortunate encounter with Grima after he ventured too far into Lucina's nightmare via the Dream Tap. Lucina felt the guiltiest of all for being unable to protect him at the time, especially since Grima was now _her_ enemy to face. It took a while to explain exactly who Grima was, as well as the generally accepted theory as to why he had returned from his supposed banishment in the first place, but eventually the situation was settled. Plus, Lucina finally had her sword again, which meant that fending off the terrors of the night would be a little bit easier from now on… Or at least she hoped it would be.

In any case, Lucina, Ike, Shulk, and a few others agreed to meet up after the yoga training in order to determine what the next plan of attack would be. Robin, in the meantime, made it apparent that he would do his best to fight his way out of the hospital wing so that he could potentially be of assistance to Lucina's cause.

It was now sometime in the midafternoon, mere hours before the daily scheduled dinner, but early enough that there would be time to get everything organized before the dreaded sixth encounter.

"Lucina? Yoo-hoo!"

Lucina blinked before turning her head slightly to see Palutena staring at her from her spot a few feet to the side. Both of them were still locked in the Tree position (which Lucina honestly always thought looked ridiculous). The Goddess of Light seemed to be enjoying herself, but of course, despite yoga being an exercise for the mind and body of the individual, she was always more of a fan of multiplayer games.

"Forgive me, Lady Palutena," replied Lucina with a small smile. "What were you saying?"

"There's no need to be so formal," replied Palutena, bobbing to the side ever so slightly and then readjusting her balance. "You can just call me Palutena; I'm not _your_ goddess after all."

"Right, sorry. Did you need something?"

"No, just thought I'd ask to see how things are doing with you." She leaned too far to the right again before swinging herself back into an upright position. "Darn it, I can never get these things right. Anyways, how was the party?"

"The party was nice," replied Lucina, although the way she said it kind of made it seem like she had no interest in talking about it. That was mainly because the party reminded her about her friends, and when she thought about her friends, she thought about her closer friends, and when she thought about her closer friends, she thought about Captain Falcon. That in itself was quite a peculiar thing because prior to the series of nighttime incidents, Lucina would have never in her life considered him to be one of her closer friends. He was always willing to tag along with her, but she found it strange how he would always go out of his way to make his flexed muscles apparent. Maybe he really was starting to rub off on her…

"I saw you dancing with Greninja," said Palutena, noticing that Wii Fit Trainer was now translating from the Tree position to the Dancer position, a position requiring one to stand on a single leg and grab the other with a hand. The two Smashers followed through obediently, bending and balancing to the calming notes of the music with grace like a swan landing on a flat lake. "You looked like you were having fun, but forgive me if I laugh when I say that you reminded me of the frog princess fairy tale."

"I suppose it kind of looked like that now, didn't it?" said Lucina with a chuckle. "I never would have suspected him to be so nimble on his feet."

"At least he didn't get cold feet. Oh wait, he already does!"

Palutena laughed at her own joke, but the punchline flew right over Lucina's head. Wii Fit Trainer cleared her throat rather audibly, signaling for the two ladies to concentrate on their exercises.

"Hey, do you mind keeping it down over there? Some of us are trying to concentrate," said an agitated male voice from afar.

Lucina and Palutena both arched their heads slightly in order to see Falco on the far side of the room jogging on one of the treadmills. Diddy Kong was also in the area, although he was too preoccupied leaping from one monkey bar to the next to notice what the girls were up to. Falco took a quick swig from his water bottle before resuming his run, trying to ignore the fact that he had dropped a few feathers that were now idly lying behind the treadmill in a small pile on the floor.

"Sorry, Falco," replied Palutena, a bit louder so that the bird man could hear her. "We're just having a little too much fun over here! Would you care to do some yoga with us?"

Falco could only frown in response, but he tried his best to make it look like his stamina was not nearly as low as it really was.

"You kiddin' me? I don't do yoga," he scoffed. "I'm trying to beat my distance record from last year on this thing and I still have over 800 meters to go!"

It astounded Lucina how Falco could hear their conversation when the space pilot clearly had a large screen TV playing some tournament highlights from the past year on the wall in front of his face. The volume wasn't turned up _that_ loud, but if there was anything that was going to distract Falco from his training, it would be a replay of him getting his butt handed to him by Fox McCloud.

Diddy Kong continued practicing his acrobatic skills on the metal bars nearby, tossing a banana peel on the ground before remembering what happened the last time he did that and promptly picking it up to throw away.

"Why are you jogging anyway?" asked Palutena. "I thought you were a bird."

"I'm a bird with feet! And my Arwing is the only pair of wings I need! Sheesh, cut me some slack."

"Whatever you say, feather-boy," said Palutena before giving Lucina a wink. "You better not stare at our butts like you did last time though!" Lucina couldn't help but giggle at the goddess' apparent teasing.

"I don't know where you get these stories from because that never happened!" replied Falco. "I've said it before and I'll say it again: Personally, I prefer girls that fly."

"Well, I can fly," replied Palutena slyly. "And Lucina here _is_ pretty fly for a white girl." She paused momentarily before continuing. "Are you saying you _wouldn't_ want to hunker down with one of us on a cold winter's night if we asked?"

Lucina's eyes immediately went wide at the thought, causing her to nearly lose her balance as she cried, "What!?"

"I meant bird girls," replied Falco with a frown. "And besides, everyone knows that birds fly south for the winter."

"You wouldn't even do it with the both of us?" asked the goddess childishly.

"P-Palutena!" stuttered Lucina in embarrassment.

When Palutena said "it," she was of course talking about snuggling together during a winter evening as she previously mentioned, but the way it came out made it seem as if "it" was actually something else entirely… Something that would be too inappropriate for a story that is rated T.

"No, I wouldn't," said Falco straightforwardly. "No offense ladies, but neither of you are my type. Trust me on that."

"Aw, fine," said the goddess with a smirk before turning to her companion. "Fox was right. He really _is_ fun to mess with."

"You say something?"

"Nothing!"

Lucina could only sigh at Palutena's antics. She always knew Lady Palutena to be one of those "fun gods," but if it was one thing she didn't like, it was being dragged into a situation that she really didn't need to be a part of. Never mind the fact that the thought of "getting together" with anyone at this point bothered Lucina on account of a certain white-haired tactician.

"Can we just… focus on the training?" asked Lucina shyly, wondering if her question would be shot down by the almighty Goddess of Light.

"Of course," replied Palutena warmly before moving onto the Warrior position that Wii Fit Trainer was performing.

"Strike forward with your left arm and extend the other one back," instructed the trainer. "Bend down slightly with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Feel the burn in your thighs and let the energy cycle through your core, reaching out to every inch of your body."

Lucina was feeling the burn alright. Her torso was starting to ache pretty badly after that stab wound from Grima. There wasn't a single soul she had told about her injury however (not even Robin), and she planned on keeping it that way. Of course, it didn't help that the longer she held the position, the more her face would twist into an unpleasant cringe. They had to hold the position for about a minute, but by the time 40 seconds rolled around, Lucina had uttered a tiny squeak before teetering. She quickly recovered by bringing her legs a bit closer to each other, hoping that Wii Fit Trainer wouldn't notice. Thankfully, the trainer was too engrossed in the art of yoga to see that mistake, but Palutena jumped at attention as soon as she heard Lucina's cry of pain.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Lucina arched her back slightly, easing the pain a bit, but her facial expressions showed otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, trying to derail the subject. "No worries here… Just doing yoga! I think it would be a good idea if the Ylissean army adopted this training as a military exercise."

"My Centurions already do!" exclaimed Palutena with a smile. "Well, they do now thanks to Wii Fit Trainer. If it wasn't for her, I never would have known how effective yoga can be."

"Exercising consistently and with the right material is always underrated," said Wii Fit Trainer. "That is why it is important to eat healthy and stay in shape. It has been scientifically proven that if the body is in top physical condition, then the mind and spirit will also perform exceedingly well."

"I'll admit, these exercises have been beneficial for me at the tournament," commented Lucina, trying to take her mind off of the stabbing pain in her side. "How many of the Smashers do you train regularly?"

"It's hard to say because their schedules fluctuate every now and then," replied Wii Fit Trainer as she changed sides. "But of all the fighters that come to practice yoga, I'd say that Luigi, Pit, Jigglypuff, Pac-Man, the princesses, and you two are the only ones who consistently show up for activities. Everyone else I have to holler at in order for them to come on a regular basis."

"Ah yes, is that not why we all love Captain Falcon?" replied Palutena.

The two women chuckled at the joke, but Lucina could only stare as she processed the last three words of that sentence.

"Anyway, let's move on," said Wii Fit Trainer as she crouched down onto the mat. "Follow me as I perform the Jackknife, an intermediate position that requires some discipline. Simply raise your feet together into the air like so and reach for them with your hands. Think of it like touching your toes upside-down."

Palutena and Lucina both got down and immediately tried imitating the trainer. It was kind of awkward for Palutena since her gown made her show off a bit more leg than she wanted, but it wasn't like Falco was paying attention to them anyway. Lucina, on the other hand, was still having trouble fighting the pain in her abdomen, but eventually she was able to pull through and execute the position perfectly.

"Now breathe in, and out," continued Wii Fit Trainer. Both ladies followed suit with the instructions, Lucina closing her eyes as she reached for her toes. The entire time she kept telling herself that it was almost over, and her thoughts started to become clouded again, the soothing music from the radio becoming almost mute to her. Palutena took a notice of Lucina's distress, and like always, knew that the best way to get Lucina's mind off of things was to distract her in the most embarrassing way possible.

"Dang Lucina," said Palutena casually, staring at her pants. "You've got a nice butt."

Lucina was immediately thrown off balance as she collapsed to the floor, but quickly picked her limbs up as she resumed the Jackknife position, albeit with a face as red as a Maximum Tomato.

"W-What was that?" she asked innocently, as if she didn't already hear it the first time.

"I said you have a nice bum," replied Palutena, not even giving a hoot that this sort of topic was not very comfortable to discuss around the poor girl. "I don't mean it in a perverted way or anything." She rolled her eyes with a smirk as she said that last sentence. "I mean, I wish I had a butt like yours. I really need to start laying off of the sweets."

Lucina was pretty much at a loss for words, but now she was more conscious about pointing her backside in a direction that was not facing the Goddess of Light.

"T-Thanks I guess…" she muttered, praying that Wii Fit Trainer would quickly move onto a position that was less embarrassing. Little did she know that she was no longer regarding the stingy pain of the sword wound, so at least that was a positive that was coming out of this.

"Seriously though," continued Palutena. "How is it that no one has asked you out yet? I heard from Mario that back when Peach and Zelda joined the Smash Bros., they had guys lining up at their doorstep ready to take them out on dates. I even got a love letter from King Dedede when I joined earlier this year!"

Lucina couldn't bring her eyes to face her partner as images of Robin and Captain Falcon flashed through her head. It was a little known fact, but Lucina actually _had_ been asked out on a date before. _Twice_ as a matter of fact. Well, three times if she counted the time Lucas went with her through a walk in the park, but they were just doing that as friends anyway.

No, Lucina was recalling the time before she joined Smash Bros. when Robin had asked her out on a stroll through the countryside in Ylisse. It was during the continent's time of darkness when Grima rose to power, but despite all that, the Robin was still able to bring the charm and good laughs. That night was one of most magical evenings she had ever experienced in her life, and was one of the key reasons why she kept Robin so very close to her heart.

Fast-forward several months later, and Lucina finds herself being asked out by the one and only Captain Douglas J. Falcon, but he wasn't nearly as kind or gentle as Robin was previously. Let's just say that Falcon has had experiences asking every girl in the mansion out at least once, and as one may expect, it never turned out the way he wanted. This mainly had to do with the fact that he only asked girls out for the status, making love seem as if it were an artificial thing. Regardless of this, Falcon still proved himself to be a very trusting friend, and Lucina always wondered if he still regarded her in the same light as he did all those months ago.

"Perhaps I'm just lucky," responded Lucina after a small pause. "Or maybe there's something I lack that the other women have." Her gaze fell upon Palutena's chest for a few seconds before facing forward again.

"Nah, I don't think so. You just need to be a little more… adventurous."

"Adventurous?"

"Well… Yeah!" said Palutena confidently. "You're never around during the day unless you're participating in the tournament or joining the others for food. You go to bed early all the time." Lucina rolled her eyes at that last statement. She may have had a nightly routine about a week ago, but that was all thrown out the window ever since the nightmares began. "You never play any sports like Laser Football Tag or Homerun Contest, and you only ever spend time with either Robin or Shulk. If you want to meet people then you actually have to try!"

"Everyone in the mansion knows me," replied Lucina straightforwardly. "And they all respect me (for the most part) as I do them. To be 'adventurous' in your case is to hunt down a mate like a leopard stalking an antelope." She regretted using the term "mate," but she really didn't know what else to use as a response.

"The first bite is always the juiciest." Palutena gave another childish wink, at which point Lucina was certain she was just messing with her, just like she had done to Falco earlier. Lady Palutena was indeed a good actress, but it only caused Lucina to become more wary of what she said around her.

It's not like the Goddess of Light meant any harm. She was just trying to have fun.

The remainder of the yoga training went on for about another hour or so as the Smashers transformed from the Jackknife position, to the Bridge position, to the Arm and Leg Lift, Gate, and finally some cool down exercises. By the end of it, the girls were sweating pretty hard, and Lucina didn't even notice that Falco and Diddy Kong had both left the weight room a while ago. A group of Waddle Dees had stumbled upon the scene in order to clean and mop up the equipment, one of them even taking the time to join in on the last stretch of yoga sessions. Wii Fit Trainer was practically shining with perspiration, but she played it off nice and cool by splashing a bucket of water over her head (to which the servants also had to clean up).

As the Smashers began packing up their stuff, Lucina could feel a rising pain in some of her limbs, but it was at least distracting from her primary wound. She ended up saying good-bye to Palutena, who was not hesitant to warp out of the room and right into a cold shower. Lucina was also quick to thank her for the "advice." Whether she planned on using it or not, she didn't care. She just wanted to get the heck out of there so she could move on to more important things, such as what she was going to do about Captain Falcon's unconscious body in the hospital wing.

* * *

1 hour later…

* * *

With a new set of clothes on her back (well, the same ones as earlier in the day) and her Falchion tucked securely in its sheath, Lucina was ready to rendezvous with her comrades in the game room. They had all agreed to meet there on account of most of the usual meeting spots in the mansion being occupied by other Smashers (even the laundry room couldn't be used due the Waddle Dees in it doing… well, laundry). At the time they scheduled it, Lucina knew for a fact that Ike and Shulk would show up, but she wasn't so sure about anyone else other than those two.

After the yoga training, she was feeling rather confident in herself, the pain of her old wounds now starting to feel like mere scratches. Oddly enough, there was also some comfort in knowing that Grima was indeed the dark entity they had to deal with, as opposed to the ever mysterious unknown. It didn't make the situation any better, but at least now she could match a name to a face.

Upon entering the game room, she was greeted by Ike, along with Shulk, Pit, Megaman, and Wario, who were all sitting on the couch playing Mario Kart 8. Pit's mischievous counterpart, Dark Pit, was standing behind the sofa watching the game, glancing over in Lucina's direction before reverting his attention back to the screen. Near the far side of the room, Samus and Meta Knight were seated at a small table and seemed to be engaged in a game of Chess. And just further behind the Chess game, Lucina could see Yoshi sitting in the corner playing a video game on a small TV that appeared to be Yoshi's Island, but she wouldn't have recognized it anyway.

"There are more than I thought there would be," she said, somewhat surprised.

"Yoshi and Megaman were already here from before," replied Ike. "With the tournament on hold, this is the best place we could find."

Lucina recalled this room as the first place where she met Falcon and Ike after the first encounter. Back then, she was so bewildered and confused by the supernatural events, she even remembered Ike telling her that the nightmares were just her imagination. She knew she wasn't the same girl she was a few days ago. She was stronger now, more confident, and better prepared to handle whatever these nightmares planned on throwing at her. It was all she could hold onto for the sake of herself, as well as her friends.

"Hey Lucina!" greeted Pit as he jerked his steering wheel controller, narrowly dodging a Green Shell in the process. "Come play some Mario Kart with us!"

"Wahaha, here I go!" hollered Wario before unleashing the might of the unholy Blue Shell. "I'm-a Wario! I'm-a gonna win!"

"I never realized how crazy this game is!" exclaimed Shulk. As distressed as his voice sounded, there was no mistake that he was having a blast.

"Alright guys, enough," interrupted Ike. "Lucina's here now, so just-"

"Wait one second!" cried Wario before leaning his controller so far to the right that his arm was clearly in Megaman's way, forcing the robot Smasher to peer up in order to get a better view.

"Do you mind?" he said in annoyance before shoving the fat man's limb away. This action of course caused Wario to drive right off the track and fall into a pit.

"Hey! You did that on purpose you little punk!" he shouted angrily.

"It's just game, calm down," muttered Dark Pit, rolling his eyes.

"Can it you fairy," replied Wario aggressively as he turned around. "You're not even a part of this game."

"What did you call me?" The dark angel quickly grabbed Wario by the collar, raising him up slightly, but the Italian man didn't seem fazed at all.

"Whoa, easy there Pittoo!" cried Pit. "There's no need to get violent!"

"Will you stop calling me that!?"

"Apparently he gets upset if you call him names," muttered Wario. "What is this, kindergarten?"

"Okay, that's it. You're-"

"Enough of this!"

The television immediately powered off. The next thing anyone knew, a TV remote control came flying across the room right into Dark Pit's arms. The Smashers all turned to see Robin standing by the air-hockey table, albeit leaning against it. He was dressed in his usual tactician getup, and he actually looked a lot better than he did when Lucina went to visit him earlier in the day.

"Robin?" asked Lucina. "Are you-"

"Released from the hospital?" he interrupted. "Why yes I am. I made it clear that I wanted to get out of that bed today. It took some convincing, but Dr. Mario was lenient enough to grant me release earlier than intended. And I'm perfectly normal. See?" He put his arms out and spun around, as if any obvious wounds would be visible on his clothing. "I came here as quickly as I could, but I didn't expect that I would show up before you."

Lucina gave a thankful smile. She could tell he may have been exaggerating about his condition, but then again, that's how he always was.

"I'm glad to see you on your feet again," she said with a nod before turning to the rest of her friends. "So… I suppose we should discuss what the plan is for tonight's encounter?"

"Have a seat," replied Ike, gesturing to a circular group of chairs near Meta Knight and Samus' game. The two Smashers had to put their game aside in order to join in on the meeting. As a matter of fact, every Smasher in the room seated themselves in one of the chairs, except for Yoshi who was still too engrossed in his adventures of saving Baby Mario to notice. Robin ended up sitting down next to Lucina, giving her warm hand a squeeze as other people began to sit down. Ike plopped down directly across from the Ylissean princess, while Pit, Dark Pit, Megaman, and reluctant Wario filled up all the remaining spaces. Wario in particular was hoping that he would be able to bail on this meeting, but Ike had forced him to stay, for unbeknownst to Lucina, Wario knew something that was significantly helpful to her cause.

"I suppose I will start by saying," began Lucina when she confirmed that everyone was sitting down, "that I would like to thank everyone here for attending this meeting."

"The formalities aren't necessary," replied Samus. "We all know why we're here."

"Um… we do?" asked Megaman.

"Most of us know why we're here," continued Ike, his arms crossed. "For those of you who were not previously aware, Captain Falcon was caught in an accident last night. An accident so terrible that none of us are certain if he's going to make it out of his coma alive."

A little overdramatized sure, but Ike was pretty much right on the dot with the current situation.

"Let me guess," mumbled Dark Pit. "He fell down the stairs trying to get himself a glass of water again."

"This is no joking matter," responded Ike seriously. "Tonight is going to be the only chance we have of saving Captain Falcon from the prison that is Lucina's head." He pointed in the direction of the girl in question as he said those last words, leaving Megaman to stare in confusion.

"Her… head?" he asked. "You lost me."

"Perhaps you should have filled them in _before_ we started the meeting?" suggested Robin, almost condescendingly.

"Okay, well then here it is from the top," replied Ike, shaking his head. "We all know about the problems with Lucina's recent dreams, correct?" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, although Wario was too preoccupied picking his nose. Samus delivered a swift chop to his thigh, forcing him to flinch into an upright position again. "Well last night, Lucina had another dream, only this dream ended up being more intense than any of the previous ones. Apparently she…" Ike's eyes ended up meeting with Lucina's face, who was just previously staring at the ground. He let out a small sigh, but this sigh was far from anything that resembled disappointment. "I don't know why I'm telling this story. It was Lucina's dream after all." He opened a hand towards Lucina, gesturing for her to continue where he left off. It took her a second to notice what he was doing, but when she did, she quickly sat at attention and tried to recall again what happened during the fifth encounter.

"Unlike my previous dreams, this dream took me to a plane outside of the mansion," she explained. "I found myself in the continent of Ylisse, my home realm. It is there where I encountered Grima the Fell Dragon, destined to bring total destruction upon the world. Captain Falcon somehow managed to enter my dream and fight Grima alongside me. Unfortunately, Grima's forces were too strong, and Captain Falcon and I were forced to retreat." She paused momentarily as the image of Falcon putting his helmet on her head and slamming the door flashed through her mind again. "He saved me from the monsters… but he never made it out on time." She looked up at her fellow Smashers who were all intently following along with her tale. "We believe that Captain Falcon's consciousness is still somehow trapped in the dream world. We need to figure out a way to go back in there and free him. If we don't… he could be gone forever."

Her voice fell quiet as she said those last words, but everyone got the message. The ones who were already aware of the events nodded their heads, confirming that the situation was as bad as they feared it was.

Dark Pit, on the other hand, needed a bit more convincing.

"Stuck in the 'dream world?'" he asked skeptically. "Is there even such a thing?"

"Of course there is!" replied Pit. "Where else do you think you go when you have a dream?"

"Uh. Nowhere?"

"You know those great dreams you have about eating ice cream, or sitting in a hot spring, or eating ice cream in a hot spring, or eating ice cream in a hot spring that is filled with ice cream from the floor? Those are the kind of dreams that can only be found in the dream world!"

Pit raised a fist and his head up high, as if he had succeeded in solving a complicated puzzle that no one else could figure out. The only responses he got, however, were just a few awkward glances. Even Wario made the effort to physically roll his eyes and breathe an audible sigh.

"I don't think that's how that works," muttered Samus.

"He's half right," responded Meta Knight. "All dreams take place in a separate realm that runs parallel to this universe. The dream plane may not be accessible all of the time, however, since that all depends on how vivid and intense the dream is. In Lucina's case, I'd say that Grima's powers are more than enough to invoke the dream world in her sleep."

"Pfft, yeah right," replied Dark Pit. "If what you're saying is true, then that would mean that everyone's dreams would have to be connected in one way or another."

"How else do you think Captain Falcon was able to enter her dream?"

Dark Pit thought about giving a response, but quickly took it back on account of him not being too sure of himself. Despite this, it was near impossible for a person to enter someone else's dream on their own, at least not without the aid of some magic pixie dust.

"I'm sure Wario will be able to shed some light on the situation," said Ike, turning towards the fat man.

Wario hesitated, giving an unimpressed look as all eyes aimed directly at him.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"You gave Captain Falcon the Dream Tap, a drug that induces the cross-connection in the dream world."

Lucina and Robin both recognized the name of the substance from their meeting with Master Hand earlier. It was news to them, however, that Wario had any relation to Captain Falcon being in a coma.

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Wario. "This is just a waste of time. I'm outta here."

He got up to leave, but the next thing he knew, Meta Knight had Galaxia right up against his large nose, trimming a few hair particles off of his mustache in the process. Wario hesitated again, this time with wide eyes as he stared into the golden ovals behind Meta Knight's mask.

"You wouldn't," he said with a shiver.

"There was a time in my life when I was considered a villain," was all the Star Warrior said, but this alone was more than enough to convince Wario to sit his greasy butt back down. Robin couldn't help but nod his head impressively at how intimidating Meta Knight could be when he wanted to.

"You're the reason why Captain Falcon is trapped in the dream world," continued Ike seriously. "Is this true?"

"Well, sort of," replied Wario as he shrugged his shoulders. "That pea-brained idiot was so desperate to get into Lucina's dream that he practically begged me to give him a hit of the Dream Tap. Me of course, being the generous and devilishly handsome guy that I am, gave him what he wanted. I told him a bunch of times that taking the Dream Tap would be very risky, but nothing can get through to that thick skull of his, especially not when he's wearing that helmet. Seriously, the damn fool thinks he's indestructible when he wears that thing."

Lucina was certain that this was what Captain Falcon was up to during the night of the party. Although, after hearing this story, she was more curious as to what Falcon had said about her at the bar compared to how Wario got his hands on the Dream Tap.

"Where did you get the Dream Tap from?" asked Robin.

"I _own_ it you chump!" replied Wario rudely. "Every ounce of Dream Tap that has either come in or gone out from the mansion was all brewed by Warioware Industries. I've had my hands on the stuff since the Brawl tournament, but I was sneaky enough to keep it out of reach from Master Hand and any of those damn kids. Now that the jig is up, Master Hand ordered the Waddle Dees to take every batch of Dream Tap out of the bar and destroy it! I saw it with my own eyes. All of those boxes being carried by those mindless red Kirby knockoffs! It really makes my blood boil! It makes me want to… makes me want to!..."

A suspenseful silence befell the group before Wario let out a whistling toot of a fart. All of the Smashers immediately covered their noses in disgust, except for Megaman who was thankful that he could simply turn off his sense of smell. The scent itself was reminiscent of raw garlic, rotten eggs, four-month-old potato salad, and just a hint of decomposing mushrooms. It didn't stop the situation from being any grosser though.

"Oh man, you should warn us next time!" cried Shulk.

"You're disgusting," muttered Samus.

"I think I got some in my mouth!" cried Pit.

No one seemed to notice Yoshi pull a blanket over himself trying to block out the smell, but his eyes were still engaged on the video game he was playing the corner of the room.

"Heheh. Sorry," said Wario. "I get a little excited under pressure."

"Is that what you call it?" replied Robin, shielding his nose with the sleeve of his robe.

"So that's it then?" asked Ike, waving the remainder of the rancid smell away. "You made the Dream Tap and Master Hand took all of it away?"

"Yeah, that's about it," replied Wario. "Not much else to say I'm afraid. I don't know what happened inside of Lucina's dream, but from the looks of it, the Dream Tap must have worked."

"Is there still a chance for us to save Captain Falcon?" asked Lucina. Robin gave her a quick glance, but she didn't seem to notice.

"If he's alive in the real world, then that means he's still alive in the dream world," replied Wario. "But who knows. For all we know, he could be alive here, but dying in there. None of us would know unless we were there with him."

"Man, these rules sure are complicated…" mumbled Pit.

"Not really. Any moron with half a brain cell could figure out that dying in the dream world is not a good thing. It was risky enough for him to go into her dream alone."

"What do you mean?" asked Ike.

"He's talking about the dream plane," replied Meta Knight calmly. "Think of it like this: Imagine you had a table with a glass surface. This glass tabletop represents the dream world. Now imagine taking a bowling ball and gently placing it on top of the table. What do you think will happen?"

"Well, that depends," answered Megaman. "If you're just placing the bowling ball on the table, and if the glass is strong enough, then nothing should happen."

"Correct," said Meta Knight. "As long as the glass is strong, placing the bowling ball on the table should not break it. Now, imagine what happens if we start placing multiple bowling balls on the table in addition to the first one."

"The table's going to break," replied Dark Pit.

"Exactly. The table has a limited weight it can support, so eventually the glass will shatter after so many balls have been placed upon it. Now, convert that scenario into Lucina's dreamscape. If multiple people enter Lucina's dream at the same time…"

All eyes looked upon Lucina, who bore a questioning expression on her face.

"The dream world will break?" she asked.

"Not only would it break," replied Meta Knight, "but your entire mental structure would collapse. You could wake up with irreversible brain damage, or potentially imprison the people who have tapped into your dream permanently."

Lucina couldn't help but shiver at the thought. She didn't realize how much danger she was in when Captain Falcon had initially shown up in her nightmare. Between him and Grima, she was surprised that she was able to support so much stress at the same time.

"That's why I said it was risky of him to do that," continued Wario. "If your mind wasn't stable enough, he could have broken your dream world when he came in, and Master Hand would probably fire my ass for that."

"_That's_ what you're worried about!?" replied Pit in surprise.

"So then how are we supposed to save Captain Falcon?" asked Shulk. "I mean, it's not like we have any Dream Tap anyway… But if we did, it would be a bad idea to use it?"

"A bad idea for two reasons," replied Wario, holding up two stubby fingers. "One, because too many people inside of Lucina's head at the same time is too dangerous. And two, because Master Hand said he would disqualify anyone from the tournament caught using the stuff. So be glad that he got rid of my stash."

"You're the one who seems the most upset by it," said Samus with a frown.

"It's 'cause that stuff is worth good money! And just like that he throws it all down the drain… What did I do to deserve this?"

"It has to be me then," said Lucina all of a sudden. "I'm the only one who can save Captain Falcon from Grima."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," replied Robin seriously. "Surely there must be a way for us to interact with Falcon from this end of the spectrum?"

"Sorry pretty-boy, but that ain't gonna happen," replied Wario with crossed arms. "Falcon's stuck in there, and the only one who can get him out is her." He pointed a gloved finger in Lucina's direction, to which she merely nodded in agreement. Robin could only grit his teeth at the response, mainly because he felt it was his duty to protect Lucina at this point, and also because he didn't want to risk Lucina and Falcon being in the same room together (recalling Shulk's description of his last vision).

"So there's nothing we can do to help?" asked Pit worriedly.

"The best we can do is wake Lucina up if she's in any kind of trouble," responded Ike. "But that would take a night guard without any need for sleep."

"I can be a night guard," said Megaman as he raised his hand. "I only need a few hours of shutdown time, so I can stay up the whole night watching over Lucina."

"Consider yourself hired then."

The robot boy gave a thumbs-up, but Robin was still adamant about finding a workaround.

"I think we're being a little too hasty here," he said. "We can't just leave this rescue mission all up to Lucina by herself."

"You don't think she can do it?" asked Shulk.

"It's not that I don't think she can do it. It's just that we need to be careful here. You're forgetting that Lucina and Captain Falcon aren't going to be the only ones in that dream tonight. Grima will also be there, and believe me when I say that he takes no prisoners. I'm honestly surprised that Captain Falcon is still alive at this point."

Most of the Smashers seemed to be in a disagreement with Robin's statements, but Lucina couldn't help but admit that he did have a point. None of the Smashers besides her and Robin had witnessed Grima's powers firsthand. They probably mistook him for another "boss monster" like King Dedede or Bowser… or perhaps even Nightmare. As much as she wished she could bring other Smashers into her dream with her just like Captain Falcon had done, she knew it was nearly impossible, especially now that all of the Dream Tap was gone.

"We don't seem to have a choice in the matter," replied Ike. "We don't have any more of the Dream Tap, and even if we did, using it might be too risky for Lucina. All we can do is hope that she can bring him back to us somehow. Do you think you can do it?"

Lucina hesitated slightly before coming up with a response.

"I can do it," she said confidently. "I may not be able to defeat Grima, but I should be able to retrieve Captain Falcon and return him to us."

"Don't even think about fighting Grima," replied Robin seriously.

"He's right," said Samus. "Focus on getting Falcon out of there first. _Then_ we can worry about Grima."

"Good plan," mumbled Wario. "I don't have to do anything, heheh."

"Oh no you don't," replied Ike. "We're going to search your bar for any remaining samples of the Dream Tap."

"What!? But I already told you they robbed me out of house and home!"

"Surely they must have overlooked some. It's the best we can do in a situation like this. If all goes as planned, then we can use the Dream Tap to re-enter Lucina's dream and put a stop to Grima once and for all… Together."

"Ike…" said Lucina, a warm feeling building up in her heart.

"This adventure is far from over, Lucina," continued the mercenary. "No matter how far you travel into the dream realm, just remember that we're right behind you every step of the way." He put a fist out into the middle of the group. "Do you trust us?"

Lucina could feel small tears beginning to form in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them into oblivion. Almost instinctively, she placed a hand atop Ike's fist, with a look of determination that Captain Falcon would be proud of.

"I do," she replied.

"And I'm with you too!" said Shulk, reaching a hand out and placing it on top of Lucina's hand. His gaze fell upon Samus who reached out from her seat and placed a hand above his.

"If it's for you," she said positively.

Pit was the next to join in, exclaiming, "In the name of Lady Palutena, may Captain Falcon make a fast and safe journey home!"

"My sword will always be at your side," said Meta Knight, joining in on the commemoration.

"You can count on me," chimed Megaman, standing up to put a metallic hand in the center.

"Ugh, this is so lame," muttered Dark Pit, crossing his arms and fluttering his wings in annoyance. Pit swiftly kicked him in the shin, causing him to roll his eyes and give in, putting a hand on top of Megaman's.

Wario ended up just shrugging his shoulders again, seeing as how he wasn't going to be getting out of this meeting any time sooner. "Ah, what the heck," he said before putting a large hand in the group.

Everyone's gaze immediately fell upon Robin who was still debating whether or not he wanted to jump on the bandwagon. As a tactician, he didn't feel comfortable going through with a plan that he himself wasn't very confident in, let alone a plan that he hardly had any say-so in conjuring. A worried glance from Lucina gave him a tentative change of heart, and he found himself putting his hand in the mix with a small smirk on his face.

"No matter what happens, our fates will always be joined," he said reassuringly.

Suddenly, a thin green hand reached out onto the top of the pile of hands. Lucina glanced to the side to see Yoshi standing in the group. It seems this sudden emotional event was enough to tear him away from his game, but nevertheless, his presence was welcomed all the same.

"Yoshi!" he exclaimed, which no one really knew how to interpret, but they just assumed he was all for their cause anyway.

"It's decided then," said Lucina with a nod. "Tonight, we save Captain Falcon. And then after that… We defeat Grima." She paused. "Together."

"Together," everyone repeated in unison.

It was at that moment Lucina realized that Captain Falcon's situation was no fault of hers. He, like all of her friends, were just doing their part in ensuring her safe recovery from the nightmares. The road may have been a bit bumpy at times, but that never stopped the Smashers from picking themselves up where they fell. They were now working as one unit. A single entity. They were the strongest fighters in the universe, banded together by an unusual cause, driven by the urge to overcome the unthinkable, the unimaginable, and the incomprehensible. For the first time in her life, Lucina could say with confidence that she was a full-fledged member of the Super Smash Brothers. After experiencing what was quite possibly the worst week in her career, she knew deep down inside that she wouldn't want it any other way.

"_Wait for me, Captain Falcon. I'll be there soon_."

* * *

**Author's Note:** 8500 words! That ought to keep you guys satisfied for about… a day or two. This chapter was meant to explore Lucina's emotions a bit, and I think this really accomplished that! Let me know what you thought about this one since this chapter was kind of split into two parts: The weight room and the game room. This chapter also marks the debut of Wii Fit Trainer, Falco, Megaman, and Dark Pit, so let me know what you thought about them as well (I'm not very well versed in the Megaman lore, so apologies if I got his personality wrong or something). Also, for those of you who didn't catch it, the song that plays on Wii Fit Trainer's radio is from Pikmin 1. I'm referencing this here since the song doesn't actually appear in any Smash Bros. games, and I couldn't think of any game music that was exactly relaxing (any suggestions of well-known relaxing songs from Nintendo games would be appreciated!). Finally, the yoga positions that WFT, Palutena, and Lucina do in this chapter are based on the Wii Fit trophies in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, so you can take a look at those if you want to try them out for yourself! I hope ya'll enjoyed and have a happy new year!


	21. Calm Before the Storm

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter is really just an excuse for me to use the word "succulent" in a non-sexual context.

* * *

Chapter 21: Calm Before the Storm

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Dinner time came and went just as it did every other night for Lucina, leaving her with a full stomach and barely enough room for dessert. The Waddle Dees had prepared a real feast for the Smashers this evening, providing a mixture of different platters from succulent hams to steamed vegetables to garlic bread and applesauce. The Smashers were about as enthusiastic as they always were during meal times and conversation struck immediately as soon as the forks were raised. Of course, it was expected by this point that some fighters preferred to eat alone, but this group of individuals usually consisted of either dark villains or the soft-spoken characters such as Greninja and Meta Knight sometimes.

Nevertheless, it nearly surprised young Robin when he noticed Lucina had finished her entire plate in a matter of minutes while he still had more than half of the ham and veggies to go. When offered dessert, Lucina was quick to decline, getting up from her seat in the process and making her way out of the dining room under the loudness of every other Smasher's conversations. Incidentally, her food did not go to waste thanks to a certain tie-wearing ape in the seat next to hers, but that didn't stop Robin from following her footsteps with his gaze. As others started getting up to return to their own respective agendas and duties for the evening, Robin found himself wolfing down the rest of his meal before giving chase to the girl in blue.

He was stopped at the door when another blue-haired swordsman was making his way into the room, causing Robin to do a double-take upon recognizing the Smasher as Lucina's ancient ancestor.

"Oh, Marth," said Robin all of a sudden. "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"It's quite alright," replied Marth, shaking his bangs out of his eyes. "I was just about to sit down and eat, but it looks like I spent a little too much time in the training room. Are you heading out?"

"No, not at all," replied Robin, stepping aside to let Pac-Man and Jigglypuff pass through the door. "Lucina just left a few minutes ago and I was going to go look for her. Did you see her on your way here?"

"Unfortunately, no. Is she okay?"

Apparently, Marth hadn't seen nor spoken to Lucina since the night of the party. The party itself was a hot topic at the dining table for about five minutes before conversation struck more sensitive issues, such as the current state of the tournament and Captain Falcon's condition. Some of the Smashers still had no idea that Falcon's coma was related to Lucina's nightmares, but the ones who were in on the situation usually kept on the down-low anyway. No, instead, everyone was more concerned with when Master Hand planned on resuming the tournament. It hadn't even been a day since the new ruling and already some of them were starting to feel anxious. This didn't seem to bother Lucina at all though since the more time people spent worrying about the tournament, the less time they could take to pay attention to her.

Friends or no friends, Lucina was never one who enjoyed being in the spotlight.

"She's doing better now," replied Robin. "I'm just looking for her since there's something I need to talk to her about."

He never got his chance to talk to Lucina one on one like he hoped after the meeting in the game room due to the scheduled dinner. He more or less hung around her until the food finally came. Ike, Wario, and some of the others ended up just skipping the meal altogether (much to Wario's dismay) in order to investigate the bar one last time. Despite all this, Yoshi still showed up for dinner, but then again he never missed a chance for free grub anyway.

"You better make haste then," said Marth before lowering his voice to a semi-whispered tone. "There's a rumor going around that Master Hand is planning on terminating fighters in the company."

Robin nearly lost all focus upon hearing that last sentence, but quickly recollected himself just as Link and Fox were passing by in the middle of their own conversation. He eventually pulled Marth to the side so that they wouldn't be blocking the doorway; everyone knows how annoying it is when people just stand in doorways and talk.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Robin seriously.

"I heard it from Greninja who said he overheard it from Crazy Hand and R.O.B. talking about something earlier today. I assume that the fighters who would be terminated in this case would be the ones who have impeded the progress of the tournament so far."

He didn't need to say the names, but Robin knew exactly who Marth was referring to.

"We have to tell her," said Robin hastily, making a move to break away from the conversation.

"Not so fast," interjected Marth, grasping the tactician firmly by the shoulder. "As terrible as it may sound, you have to remember that this _is_ all just a rumor. I have no way of verifying if what I heard was true or not. It's best that we keep the word at a minimum for now; the last thing we need is a panic on our hands."

Robin didn't imagine the Smashers to be ones for breaking out into panics. No, he expected that there would be something more drastic on their hands, like a rebellion of some sort, or what could quite possibly be the biggest brawl Super Smash Bros. has ever known.

"Why are you telling this to me?" he asked. Seriously, if Marth was so concerned with keeping things a secret, there should have been no reason for him to tell Robin in the first place.

"Because I trust you," said Marth seriously. "And because I know you and Lucina are close. I don't have to tell you to keep an eye on her since I already know you do it on your own." He paused for a moment, glancing around to ensure no one else was eavesdropping on their discussion. "Just make sure you don't leave her alone with Master Hand. I don't know if you've noticed, but Master Hand has been acting awfully strange as of late. I don't know if it's because he got knocked upside the head too many times last night, or if his patience is beginning to run thin with us after all these years. Whatever happens, don't lose sight of Lucina. If you're not with her, make sure someone else is. And try to be inconspicuous about it. The last thing we need is for Crazy Hand to lose his marbles again."

Neither Robin nor Lucina were there at the time, but apparently Crazy Hand had gone on some kind of murderous rampage during the Melee era. He had killed hundreds of innocents, bathing himself in blood and using the bones of tiny animals to build himself a house somewhere deep in the forest. He was a deranged criminal who had gone berserk, and he found enjoyment in the smallest of life's gifts, such as cutting the fingers and toes off of children who ventured too far into the woods, forcefully collapsing coal mines in the mountainous regions and suffocating workers inside, and worst of all, strangling kittens with his forefinger and thumb. Of course, this was all during a time before Master Hand and the Smash Bros. finally found him and brought him to justice. The crazed hand was locked in the basement of the mansion for years during the Brawl tournament until Master Hand had somehow come up with a formula to keep his animalistic traits at bay. The results yielded a slightly more crazy but less maniacal version of the being that everyone referred to as Crazy Hand, and they never had a problem with him ever since.

Recalling that story always gave Robin goosebumps since it was hard to picture the optimistic hand doing anything that a normal person would deem harmful to others. But perhaps there was a chance that Master Hand was actually the crazier one of the two? Wouldn't that be pretty ironic.

"Master Hand wouldn't let that happen," said Robin reassuringly, although he himself wasn't feeling too confident in his words.

"We can never be too careful," replied Marth. "Let's just hope this problem with Lucina gets resolved soon. In the meantime, remember what I said and don't let her out of your sight. Take care."

Robin opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when Marth turned his back and began heading towards the dinner table. He didn't expect their discussion to end so abruptly, but truth be told, he already knew more than what Marth initially wanted to let him in on.

Silently, Robin made his way towards the exit, giving small nods and hellos to whatever Smashers he passed by on the way. On the inside, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor souls who weren't completely aware of what was going on, but overall it didn't matter. All he cared about was making sure Lucina was safe, and even though he was hesitant to go through with the plan they discussed in the game room just hours prior, he wasn't feeling too worried about it.

He patted the vial on his inside pocket lightly to verify it was still on him before heading up the stairs to look for Lucina.

"_If she's not in her room, there's only one other place she could be..._"

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As the setting sun began to crawl behind the distant mountains, Lucina felt a cool breeze brush her cape up against her legs. She took a deep breath, drawing Falchion and holding it up in front of her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and began dancing across the rooftop, swinging her agile blade each step of the way. She stepped once swinging up, then twice with an angled slash, and then a third and fourth time with a low sweep coupled with a series of jabs. The spacious area of the mansion's roof gave her all the more reason to dash and prance to her heart's content, and she wasn't afraid to time her jumps off of the idle Crates sitting around. In one fell swoop, she back-flipped onto a Rolling Crate, using her momentum to propel herself across the runway and onto the helicopter landing pad, Dolphin Slashing to strike one of the floating Targets she had set up for herself. A swift ground recovery led to another Target destroyed, followed by two more that were lined up in a row which she was able to puncture with one Shield Breaker.

With nothing but the sound of metal cutting air particles to disturb her, she found herself in her element, but not before stopping to grab her aching stomach in pain.

"You should have waited for your food to digest," came a familiar voice from behind.

Lucina whirled around to see Robin approaching her from the rooftop door. Upon noticing that she was leaning over, she pulled herself up into a standing position, putting her sword at her side professionally as if her lame tummy ache was also part of her training.

"I didn't want to waste any time," she replied, trying to think of an excuse. "I haven't had a chance to practice my swordplay today."

"Well don't kill yourself over it," said Robin, walking up to her and looking out over the forest. The trees had been painted a light orange color from the setting sun, but the brightness was barely strong enough to make him squint. "You need to make sure you're at your best tonight."

"I know." She sheathed her weapon and followed his gaze over the view in the distance. "I think I'm prepared now. More prepared than I was previously anyway."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Lucina glanced at him, noticing that he was no longer looking out at the hills, but at her. She hesitated, not knowing what Robin was alluding to before spitting out, "My sword is all I need. As long as I am armed, retrieving Captain Falcon should not be too difficult a challenge."

Robin shook his head, a small grin spreading across his face. Lucina raised a brow in confusion.

"You've always been so headstrong," he replied, turning his attention back out towards the sunset. "I guess it's true when they say you can take the girl out of Ylisse, but not the Ylisse out of the girl."

Now it was Lucina's turn to smile, but the two ended up just staring at each other's eyes for a few moments before Robin made a motion to sit down on the edge of the rooftop.

"Do you mind if I join you for a bit?" he asked.

She nodded her head before setting her sword down and taking a spot right next to him on the side of the roof. Their boots dangled aimlessly over the edge, nothing below them but a three-story drop on to the cement of a courtyard. She felt Robin scooch closer to her, the sides of their legs now touching. She could feel his gaze upon her, but she continued to look out into the distance shyly. Glancing in his direction would only cause him to turn away, and the two ended up playing this little game of "hide and seek" for a few seconds before they both laughed.

"So what brings you up here anyway?" she asked. "You never talk to me when I'm on the roof."

He smirked. "That's because you're always training when you come here. It gives me the perfect opportunity to watch you from afar and admire your… techniques." He put a hand through her hair, but she stopped him by grasping his wrist with her hand. Again, he turned away from her and back at the lovely scenery. "This part of the mansion has always been a special place for me."

"Is it because it reminds you of the first day?"

He nodded. Back when the tournament had kicked off, Robin and Lucina had accidentally come across each other on the roof of the mansion. Lucina had only done it just to get away from all of the noise that the Smashers were known for, while Robin was more interested in trying to devise a map of the entire area. The two spent the rest of the night up on the roof that day, talking and reminiscing on the past, while discussing whatever plans they had for the future.

To Robin, Lucina was the first real friend he had at the mansion, mainly because the two already had a strong relationship from events prior. He could recall the words of her father on that day, the day he promised to watch out for her like some sort of godparent. It's not that he expected anything _bad_ would happen. Well, there were a few characters in the mansion who were known for kidnapping princesses, but everyone living under the same roof all had to follow the same rules. The mansion was secure, isolated, and probably the friendliest place anyone could ever hope to live.

If only he could have predicted these illusive nightmares all those months ago, he may have been able to put an end to a lot of Lucina's suffering.

"The day before we left Ylisse, your father came up to me," said Robin all of a sudden.

"My father?"

"Yep. He said, 'You make sure she stays out of harm's way out there.' I always thought it was kind of funny how he never got an invitation to join the Super Smash Bros. you know? But he knew all about those 'shady characters at the mansion' as he called it. 'Make sure you watch out for the one with the red hat and the overalls. He's some sort of sorcerer who can manipulate fire and has legs made of mithril.'"

"Mario?" replied Lucina, almost laughing at the description of the famous plumber. "My father said that about him?"

"Oh yeah, I showed him a few pictures of the Smashers and he recognized some of them easily. I suppose he may have met them at some point in his travels?" He puffed his chest out and tried to imitate the voice of Chrom, albeit in a slightly clumsier version of the swordsman. 'Never judge a book by its cover. Just because she's a princess in a pink dress, it doesn't mean she can't fight.'"

"Princess Peach!" Lucina laughed. "But I do agree with him there. I certainly did not expect to see a fighter in her when I first engaged her in the tournament. What about Ike?"

"'That son of Greil can lift fifteen times his own weight. He may look tough, but he's not that smart. Wielding a two-handed sword with one arm is bad technique.'"

Again, she laughed, eager as always to hear more of these funny descriptions of her friends. "How about… Captain Falcon?"

Robin paused, his gaze lowering slightly. He hesitated for a few moments before putting on the "Chrom act" one more time.

"The man with the crimson helmet is a very skilled fighter,'" he said. "'However, he has a reputation for juggling romantic relationships.'" He paused again. "'Don't let Lucina fall into the trap.'"

Lucina just stared in disbelief at the words that were coming out of his mouth, and when they made eye contact, Robin could have sworn that she was secretly accusing him of something.

"I swear, those are the exact words your father said," he responded. "I'm sorry."

"He's wrong," she replied instantly. "Captain Falcon is not like that at all." The image of Falcon waking her up from her nightmare with the hand creature flashed before eyes. "He's kind." She saw the racer laughing, holding up the DVD of some Horror movie in his hand. "He's caring." She saw him lying on the hallway floor with an army of Pikmin carrying him to his room. "He has more heart than most of the people I've ever met." She saw him putting his helmet over her head before shoving her into the house and slamming the door.

"I know you care about Chrom," replied Robin, putting a light arm around her shoulder, although he mainly did this so she wouldn't try to get up and walk away. "And I know you've always been true to his word. If you don't agree with something he says then that's okay. He won't hate you for it, and neither will I."

"He just needs to meet him," she said, looking into his eyes. "All of them. When I see my father again, I'm going to introduce everyone to him. Surely that will change his mind."

"It probably will." Robin gave a small smile. "Gods know that my opinion about some of them changed as I got to know them better. When I first met Meta Knight, I was pretty scared to approach him, but he's actually a really easy person to talk to."

"Ah, yes, I felt the same way when I first met Samus." She paused for a moment, gazing out into the sunset that was starting to fade with each passing minute. There was, however, still enough light to call it daytime. "What do you think about Captain Falcon?"

The question took Robin completely off guard, but he regained his composure brilliantly by hugging Lucina with his arm a little bit tighter. "Me?" he said. "I think he's a good guy. Not the brightest man I've come to know, but at least his heart's in the right place." His eyes fell upon hers, his nose inching towards her own. "Is that the answer you were looking for?"

She broke away from him and chuckled subtly. "Yes."

"You seem to care about him quite a bit," he pressed on, leaning his head forward to get a better view of her face. "You must be worried sick about him."

"And you're not?" she replied, although the look in her eyes hinted that she was catching on to where he was taking this conversation. "He is our friend, Robin."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm worried about him too," replied Robin seriously. "But I couldn't help but notice at the meeting today that you looked very eager to jump into your dream and save him yourself."

"What's your point?"

"Look, all I'm saying-" But he stopped himself, realizing what he was starting to become. All this time he was worried that Lucina was turning away from him because of Falcon. He wasn't even sure if Falcon had any feelings towards her, but he knew that as long as Lucina kept pushing herself away from him, it was going to be harder and harder to look after her as Chrom requested. Coupled with the rumors going around, keeping Lucina in his sights was Robin's top priority. The challenge here was making it seem like he wasn't trying to protect her, because he was fully aware of how much she hated being looked after like some helpless puppy. "All I'm saying is that you don't have to do it alone. I'm here for you."

She hesitated, her somewhat agitated mood dissipating back into calmness.

"I know," she said. "All of you are. Trust me, having you believe in me is more than all I need right now."

"But I want to do more than just believe," continued Robin. "I want to fight alongside you! If we join together just like we did in Ylisse, I'm sure there is nothing that could stop us."

"It's a wonderful thought, Robin. Really, it is. But we already determined that there is no way for anyone to help me now. I have to enter this nightmare alone."

"No you don't," replied Robin as he reached into his robe. "Not anymore."

He produced a small purple vial from his pocket. The bottle itself had a picture of a young girl's face with black pigtails on the front label and the liquid inside seemed to give off some kind of enchanted aura.

"Is that?..."

"The Dream Tap," said Robin all of a sudden. "I can use this to enter your dream tonight and help you rescue Falcon."

"But… How?" she asked. Obviously she was wondering how on earth Robin obtained such an item. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing! The one substance that was the key to transporting from reality to the dream plane was now here right before her very eyes!

"I pickpocketed it off of Wario when his back was turned today," explained Robin proudly. "It turns out he was lying to us all along; he still had a few samples left over when they took his supply."

This was exactly the opportunity she was looking for, and Robin could tell by the look on her face that she was starting to get excited. The spark in her eyes soon died down, however, when she remembered what Meta Knight said in the game room.

"It's too dangerous."

"What?"

"Recall that Meta Knight told us using the Dream Tap would be too dangerous with Captain Falcon already in the dream."

"Ah, right." Robin cursed to himself for overlooking such a simple and crucial rule regarding the drug: If too many people tap into Lucina's dream at the same time, there was a chance that the dream plane would collapse, thus possibly trapping them inside and potential damaging her neural structure. Captain Falcon was still considered "tapped in" since his consciousness was still locked away somewhere in her dream from the previous night, so throwing Robin into the mix would just end up putting more weight on the table. "What do you think I should do then?"

"Hm?" she asked. Was he now dumping this possibly life-changing decision on her?

"I can't say for certain what will happen since I'm not exactly an expert in this area," replied Robin. "I feel as if there are a few other factors that decide how much weight a dream plane can hold, such as the health of the host, mental stability, et cetera. That being said, no one knows more about your head than you do. I won't force you one way or the other."

Lucina began weighing her options, but the choice itself was a hard one to make. On the one hand, letting Robin into her dream would be a huge benefit and would likely make rescuing Captain Falcon a lot easier. On the other hand, who knows if granting him access to the dream would cause significant damage to her mind in the future? And what would the others say if they found out about this? What about Master Hand? It certainly wasn't something she was used to thinking about every day, and already she could feel herself starting to get a headache as she tried to determine a worst-case scenario.

When it came down to it, all she really wanted was for Captain Falcon to return home safe. Likewise, she didn't want to put Robin in harm's way either, but she also knew he could hold his own if the situation called for it. After much thought, Lucina eventually came to a decision.

"Alright," she said with a nod. "Just as you have faith in me, I too shall have faith in you." She reached over and clasped her hand around the Robin's fingers, concealing the vial from the entire world. "If we're lucky, we may even be able to defeat Grima."

"We'd need more than luck to accomplish that," replied Robin. "But thank you. I'm glad that you can still find use out of me despite all the times I've let you down."

She pulled away from him, giving him a look that couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"You've never let me down."

"I did this week. Remember when I said I would watch over you while you slept? That didn't really turn out well for me." He rubbed his stomach area and squinted his eyes as if he were in pain. Lucina just shook her head, but she couldn't help but give a smile at his playful antics.

"We'll be better prepared this time," she said. "That I can promise you."

"Can you promise me one more thing?" Robin put the vial down by his side. Lucina looked up at him, taken aback by the tone of voice he used in that question. Before she could react, Robin had taken both of her hands into his and held them up between them. Although she could feel, she still did not break eye contact with him, the remaining rays of the sun barely painting his hair a light autumnal shade. "Promise me that no matter what happens in your dream tonight, if you see Grima, you will not fight him. Can you promise me that?"

Lucina was hesitant to respond, for she knew that deep down inside, she wanted Grima dead more than anything else in the world… well besides seeing her father again and saving Captain Falcon. Despite how long they had been fighting in the tournament, Robin still showed signs of fear towards the Fell Dragon. But perhaps it wasn't fear that was driving him to this point? She knew very well how powerful Grima was, but she felt it was her own personal duty to get him out of her head like a stray animal that had trespassed on some neatly kept lawn.

She nearly lost her train of thought when she saw a single tear start to swell up in Robin's eye.

"Robin…" she said. "Does Grima scare you that much?"

He took a deep breath trying to recollect himself, but it didn't really work out for him. He continued to stare into her eyes, attempting to get the words he wanted to say out to her before his tongue decided to betray him.

"It's not Grima that I'm worried about," he replied, squeezing her hands tightly around his own. "It's you."

He turned away from her, somewhat ashamed and embarrassed that after all this time, she still didn't seem to get the hints he was throwing at her. He felt like he was just hitting his head against a brick wall, but one way or another, something he said _did_ manage to get through to her. She realized that Robin really did care about her and that she was more than just a fighter, or a companion, or the daughter of his most trusted friend. He was a boy in love with a girl, and if she ever regretted kissing him back in the hospital room, there was no way in hell she could take it back now. For the next few minutes of the conversation ended up happening very fast, and very few words were even spoken during that time.

Lucina had kissed him.


	22. The Sixth Encounter

It Came from Lucina's Head

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**Author's Note:** Thank you to Natekleh, Hahli Nuva, Yoshizilla-Rhedosaurus, pokemonrhoades, Dapper Dee VI, Sparro McGraw, Greywolfian, squish13, Gamerfan64, Digilady99, prowessMaster44, MahNati, pk-smash-attack, Pitta, Aurawarrior13, Namgum, and Circuit's Dead for reviewing. Also, a small thanks to my anonymous readers for your support. And thank you all so much for 20,000 views! I never would have suspected this story to gain so much popularity when I first started it; I truly am at a loss for words. Anyways, this chapter may get kind of hectic so I hope you're saddled in and rarin' to go! This is going to be another one of those longer chapters (6,000ish words), so I recommend grabbing a snack or taking breaks in between. Also, for the record, this chapter will also be the one mostly tied to Fire Emblem Awakening, so if you've played the game, then you may be able to pick out a cutscene that inspired part of this chapter. If you haven't played the game, I think I've done a good job so far at avoiding spoilers. Hopefully I didn't screw up the lore too badly. I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 22: The Sixth Encounter

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Two hours. Two hours and still Lucina couldn't bring herself to fall asleep. She was trying—really she was—but she found it hard to lower her guard when there was another person standing in the room watching her every move. Even if this person in particular just so happened to be a robot and also just so happened to have the uncanny ability to enter into "Stand By Mode" (whatever _that_ was).

She opened an eye just to check if Megaman was still there, and he seemed to have switched places yet again, this time opting to position himself next to her standing mirror by the far wall. Previously, he had been sitting on one of the chairs before moving towards the bathroom, and then by the bedside, and then again over by the balcony door. His eyes were closed the entire time, and it kind of gave her the creeps, especially since she never actually saw him physically move from place to place. He was like a lingering spirit, barely noticeable yet always present. Lucina knew that the reason why he kept moving in the first place was because he was trying to find a spot where he could stay out of her line of sight, but it didn't change the fact that having someone constantly look over your shoulder in the dark was awkward and slightly bizarre. It made her feel like she was some sort of prisoner yet again, like the time when she had a security camera panning over her head, or when the Duck Hunt Duo were stationed just on the other side of her door.

She was starting to wish that she really took the time to learn more about the robot boy known as Megaman.

Besides the Blue Bomber, Lucina had only come to know one other robot in her life while staying at the mansion, and that of course was R.O.B. the robot, or the "Robotic Operating Buddy" (the name that no one ever used). Admittedly, she didn't know much about either Smasher, but she could sure as heck spot the differences between them.

It was kind of funny actually. R.O.B. had always been known for being serious, logical, and not one to be interested in social activity. He usually kept to himself unless it meant partaking in the tournament. These traits alone were more than enough to merit him a spot on Master Hand's good side, since the giant disembodied hand was always one for control and order. Mario had once given him the nickname "Right Hand of the Right Hand," and although the robot never gave any sort of physical emotion, everyone had a hunch that he liked it.

Megaman, alternatively, was quite the opposite. He had a personality and his own set of morals that he abided by just like any other person. From what she heard from Shulk and Sonic, Megaman was a hero, and he certainly enjoyed playing the part. He was both well-liked and always welcome to community events, although he did have his limitations such as relying on a limited power supply in order to stay active for prolonged periods of time. It was no wonder Ike saw him as a suitable candidate to act as a bodyguard for her, since he certainly did not require sleep by any means. Incidentally, Lucina wouldn't have minded it at all if Megaman came equipped with some sort of shutdown feature if it meant he would stop pacing back and forth across her floor. It's too bad there wasn't a robot master called "Sleepman."

"_Don't worry about me_," Megaman had said before turning off the lights. "_I learned a few sneaking skills from Greninja awhile back. Before you know it, you'll forget I'm even here!_"

So much for that idea.

Lucina was beginning to wonder when she was going to fall asleep if at all. Besides Megaman's constant shuffling, she also found herself distracted by the thought of what was going to happen in her dream. Robin's words from earlier were comforting a bit, and she knew that no matter what happened, her friends were going to be there in the morning when she woke up. Now it was all a matter of waiting and concentrating on the dream.

She wasn't sure when she was going to run into Robin tonight. Lucina recalled how Captain Falcon more or less just showed up unannounced in the boundaries of her imaginary world. Not to mention the fact that this world was loosely based on events from the past, such as her childhood life growing up with her father in the kingdom of Ylisse. What were the odds of stumbling into that scenario all over again? She never would have thought dreams to be this malleable from the reality plane. She didn't really understand the science behind it, and to be frank, she didn't really give a damn. All she knew was that Captain Falcon was in trouble, and that Grima was the culprit behind this mess all along. The rest is history.

She honestly couldn't comprehend what had come over her on the rooftop when she made that move on Robin. It was as if she couldn't find the right response to his feelings, and naturally just went with her gut instinct. There was no "I understand" or "I completely agree" or even a "Thank you." All she had for him was a small kiss, which eventually turned into something more passionate until they were interrupted by robot boy over there. Their business was none of his business, but honorable Megaman was sworn to secrecy if it meant protecting his friends' reputations. Master Hand was pretty strict when it came to laying out ground rules, and Lucina specifically remembered something about intimate relationships being a no-no when she was given the contract to sign. Of course, this didn't stop the Smashers by any means from going out on dates or hooking up with whoever they wanted to. Everyone was just good at keeping secrets from Master Hand, a trend that had recently started to grow in popularity ever since the start of the nightmares.

"_Enough of these distractions_," thought Lucina as she took a deep breath and focused on the dream. "_Think of Ylisse. Think of Father. Think of Grima. Think of Captain Falcon_."

She thought and thought, but doing so only made her mind more active than it needed to be. Oddly enough, she was still too stubborn to accept the fact that idle thoughts lead to drowsiness, which in turn lead to sleep. At least she wasn't feeling worried or frightened anymore like she was when this whole fiasco began. She didn't even know the meaning of the word "fear" at this point, or at least she would like to hope. Regardless, she couldn't simply ignore the small voice that echoed in the back of her mind when all was quiet.

"_Fear is the consumer_."

That voice alone would be enough to leave anyone with bad dreams any day.

The aggressive rumbling of the floor caused Lucina to sit up almost immediately as she braced herself. The sound of an explosion boomed throughout the entire area, and the mansion itself felt like it had been blown up by some sort of bomb. Another series of explosions rocked the house before she made haste in strapping on her boots and grabbing her sword.

"What is the meaning of this!?" she shouted over the rolling thunder. "Megaman!?" She looked up only to see that her room had been completed destroyed. All of her belongings, including furniture, clothes, and books were either strewn across the room, cut to pieces, or downright missing. The mirror on the far side of the dorm was completely shattered and barely standing, while some of the curtains and chairs lay wasted on fire or burned to ashes.

Megaman was nowhere to be found.

"Megaman! Where are-!" but she was interrupted as another explosion went off, this one knocking her to the ground. She covered her head as debris fell from the ceiling. When the resulting shockwaves had finally ceased, Lucina stood up again to find that the entire southern side of her room—the side with the balcony door and windows—was totally gone, obliterated into nothingness by whatever had attacked the mansion. The giant gap in the wall no longer showed a view of a courtyard or a great forest or mountains in the distance, but hundreds of flaming buildings that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. Lucina approached the edge of the room, recognizing the town outside as Ylisstol, the great capitol of the Ylissean continent. She also realized that she was no longer standing in the Smash Brothers mansion, but in the Ylisstol castle itself! Somehow, the dream world had materialized without any warning and had thrown her right into the middle of a catastrophe. Unfortunately, this sight before her was not unlike something she had witnessed in the past… or possibly the future.

She looked down the main street to see bloodshed marking the cobblestone, Ylissean soldiers feebly fending off hordes of Risen warriors, while women and children ran for their lives only to be ambushed and cut down by relentless swords and axes. The sight alone was gruesomely disturbing, and Lucina almost found herself looking away, but she couldn't. For some reason, the sound of flesh being severed by steel and the sight of innocents being bludgeoned to death was strangely hypnotic. She could feel every ounce of pain, every drop of blood, every splinter of fractured bone, and the guilt inside of her only continued to grow exponentially. The confident and determined attitude she had tried so hard to maintain since the previous nightmare had mutated into something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was not fear, no, this feeling could only be triggered by something very specific, something that would give her enough drive to slay hundreds upon hundreds of zombified soldiers.

It almost made her wish she had a Final Smash like Bowser, Little Mac, or even Ganondorf for that matter.

"This is not true!" she shouted over the warzone down below. "Ylisse has never fallen!"

Her calls were soon answered by a rain of arrows on her position, but she quickly ducked back into the room before bursting through the door and into one of the main corridors of the castle. Her memories as a native in this land were all coming back to her, and already she was able to gauge where her position was relative to the castle's courtyard. She was on one of the upper floors, but the halls seemed to be mostly untouched as the carpets and paintings were still clean. There were no guards in sight, probably due to all of the chaos on the main floor.

If Robin was here, he was going to have a damn hard time finding her.

Lucina ran through the corridors, occasionally coming across a Risen soldier, which she was able to take out with a quick slash of her sword. The kills were fresh, but they felt empty to her, as if these creatures were mere shells of their former selves. Regardless of the fact that this was obviously a dream, it didn't make things any easier for her, and she almost wished that Megaman would do something and wake her up already. But no, she couldn't go back now. Not until she figured out where Captain Falcon was.

Upon turning another corner, Lucina stopped to see a few guards in Ylissean uniform fending off a group of Risen. They were severely outnumbered, but she was able to aid them just in the nick of time and strike down several of the Risen members without getting so much as a scratch on herself. The pain in her abdomen was actually starting to go away, and now it merely felt like a small sting, but perhaps that was the adrenaline finally starting to kick in.

"Lady Lucina!" said one of the guards as soon as the Risen pack had been dispatched. "We were looking everywhere for you! Please, you must come with us; you are not safe here." The guards' faces were masked by their uniforms, which covered the bottom half of their heads with blue scarves. Lucina couldn't recognize any of them, but having an actual group of soldiers at her disposal was another great feeling to have again.

"I will not run from this enemy," she replied, swinging her sword in the air. "I am looking for a friend who may be in danger. There is no time to waste; please, come with me."

It was weird to speak with these soldiers, mainly because she knew this was all a dream. Were these people just figments of her imagination? Or were they like Captain Falcon, people who came to assist her in her time of need, and very well had their own lifelines tied to the very fabric of this universe?

"He is looking for you," said another guard all of sudden. "The Fell Dragon yearns for your blood. You must flee this kingdom at once!"

"Grima?..." Lucina replied, almost in disbelief. She paused with a scowl, glaring into the eyes of each Ylissean soldier. "I will not abandon the kingdom or the queen, so if the Fell Dragon wants me he can have me. If we stand down now then Ylisstol is already lost."

"Your majesty, our men are doing their best to hold off the enemy forces in the palace courtyard and some of them have already breached the western gate. We cannot win with mere numbers alone!"

Lucina hesitated, noticing the fear in the soldier's eyes. She reached out an arm and put it on the shoulder of the guard.

"Do not be overcome by your fear," she said, closing her eyes. "Those creatures may be tireless and unforgiving, but they are not smart, and they certainly are not invincible. Let them swing at you and wait for an opening to strike; it's the only way we'll be able to defeat them."

"Your majesty…"

"Please, all I ask is that you take up arms by my side; whether we live or die is not the point. All that matters is that the kingdom is saved." She pulled away from the soldier and took a few steps down the hall before turning to the group. "Let us rendezvous in the palace courtyard! Are you with me?"

The soldiers hesitated for a few moments as they exchanged a few glances with each other. Eventually, they nodded their heads in agreement, and gave the traditional Ylissean salute in honor of Lucina's heroic and compact speech.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Then let's go! On my mark!"

She led the charge down the flight of stairs and to the next corridor, bursting through the doors into an isolated area of the castle where a swarm of Risen awaited them. With her small band of soldiers backing her up, Lucina was able to weave between the warriors and cut several of them to ribbons. Most of them couldn't anticipate the speed and accuracy of the Dancing Blades, and by the time she and her remaining soldiers had cleaned house, Lucina's clothes were starting to get stained with blood… or tar, or whatever it was that the Risen were bleeding.

By this point, she was more or less unfazed by the disgusting features of the zombie warriors, and each one she slayed merely felt like swatting a another fly. Her training with the Smash Bros. was really starting to pay off now, and she noticed some of the soldiers looked to be in awe whenever she performed mid-air double jumps. Try explaining _that_ one to the captain of the guard.

"Onward!" she shouted, dashing through the next set of doors into the foyer. This room was the last one before the courtyard, but the situation was in absolute chaos. All around her, Ylissean and Risen soldiers were battling it out to the bloody death. Any warrior that found themselves stumbling to the ground was immediately met with a swift stab to the chest, or a felled axe to the head. Swords and spears were hurling all over the place, and even a knight on a horse was parading across the room and slicing up zombie meat, although he eventually got swarmed by another mob. The sound of metal clanking with metal filled the air, and Lucina barely took the time to notice that her group of followers had actually dispersed into the room to help fend off the horde.

It was time to join in on all the excitement.

Lucina leapt into the fray, slashing a zombified soldier in the back, before twirling around and cutting up another one in the process. The sound of an Ylissean soldier falling to the floor caused her to turn around and lunge at a Risen that was just about to drop an axe on the victim's head. A surprised nod from the soldier was all the thanks she needed before she sprinted off and performed a series of aerial attacks on another enemy. She immediately stopped to drive her Falchion through the back of a Risen that had another ally pinned up against a wall while muttering, "I believe the one you want… is ME!" She slashed the sword upwards, slicing the soldier's upper body in half and killing it instantly. The female soldier she saved seemed to be quivering on the spot, but Lucina responded by helping her up to her feet. "We can't let these things win. Now grab a sword and fight!" The soldier nodded hastily before picking up her weapon and joining her nearby comrades in battle.

"_Wait a second_," thought Lucina all of a sudden. "_I've seen this before_."

Indeed she had, and she had almost nearly forgotten about it too after the Grima crisis was first put to an end. This timeline, this war, this whole world was just a retelling of the alternative universe in which Grima triumphs over humanity. Neither Ylisseans nor Plegians alike could stand up against the Risen, and Lucina recalled this very palace to be her kingdom's final stand against the dreaded Fell Dragon. It was like a severe case of déjà vu, and remembering this instance nearly cost Lucina her life as a stray zombie came up behind her to chop her head off. Just as the warrior was about to bring down its great sword, the creature burst into flame, crying out in pain as it collapsed to the floor in a sizzling heap. Lucina whirled around to see Robin standing behind her with embers dancing at his fingertips and an Arcfire tome in his hand.

"Daydreaming in a dream?" he said curiously. "I had no idea such a thing was possible."

Lucina couldn't help but smile at Robin's remark, seeing as how they were both standing in the middle of a warzone. "You made it!" she exclaimed, aiming her sights at a nearby warrior and striking it down.

"Sorry I took so long," replied Robin as he drew his sword before clashing with a Risen that had turned its attention towards him. "I had a little trouble finding your room!"

She pushed a foe away and put a hand to her chin. "My room?" The creature lunged back, both weapons now becoming locked into each other.

"The large hallway with all of the Smashers' names on them," said Robin, slashing a Risen across the waist and jumping away so that his back was up against Lucina's. "Did you see that?"

Lucina shoved the Risen in front of her far enough away so that a quick Shield Breaker would finish the job. She was still back to back with Robin. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Never mind then; we have more important things to worry about."

A small group of Risen had advanced on them from both sides, trapping the two fighters in the middle of the room. Various battles were still taking place around the perimeter of the area, but all of the Ylissean soldiers seemed to have their hands tied at the moment.

"Looks like we're pairing up," said Lucina, eyeing the hideous creatures as they stormed over to her position.

"Just like old times then," replied Robin with a smirk as he began charging a Thoron. "Here we go!"

An axe-wielder charged towards Robin, flailing the weapon maniacally, while a spear-carrier hobbled in Lucina's direction. The two Smashers pivoted around each, synchronizing perfectly and timing it just so that Robin could deflect the spear with his magic, and Lucina could outrange the axe with her sword. Needless to say, the two Risen warriors fell almost instantly, but they were soon replaced by several more. It was time to kick it up a notch.

"Lucina, up there!" shouted Robin, pointing up at a chandelier directly above them that surprisingly hadn't collapsed from the explosive shockwaves earlier. Lucina nodded in response, and ran up to Robin who gave her a boost up towards the ceiling. Any regular human would not have been able to reach so far, but thanks to the Dolphin Slash, Lucina was able to grasp the edge of the decoration, climbing up and barely able to maintain her balance as the chandelier dangled back and forth. Robin was quick to join her as he used Elwind to dodge the stampeding Risen and shoot himself up into the air, landing on the other side of the chandelier. He then took out his Levin Sword, aiming it directly below him at the Risen horde that had conveniently grouped together like a can of sardines. Lucina took the opportunity to cut the rope holding up the fixture, sending it, along with her and Robin crashing down towards the ground. Robin casted his Thoron at the precise moment to send a shockwave of lightning across the floor in all directions just as the chandelier hit the ground, electrocuting every undead warrior around them. One by one, the soldiers collapsed, their bodies sizzling with smoke as Robin leaped from the glass wreckage.

"A little careless, but I guess that's why they call it a dream," he said as he offered a hand to the lady. Lucina dismissed his chivalrous gesture with a wave and simply jumped onto the floor next to him. "Do you feel any different?"

"Not really," replied Lucina honestly. "Everything still feels the same, although the scenery is an unwelcome change."

Robin looked around at the clashing soldiers, noticing that the allied forces were actually starting to pull through. There were now less standing undead warriors compared to a few minutes ago; all that was left to do was to take care of the stragglers.

"Shall we tip the scales?" he asked with a grin.

Lucina also responded with a smirk, recalling Robin's trademark line that he always loved to shout whenever they teamed up with the Shepherds. Fighting alongside him once again was truly bringing back a lot of memories for her.

"Let's-"

Suddenly, another explosion rocked the entire palace, blasting a hole through one of the walls and sending a flurry of stone crashing into the room, crushing any and all soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the way. Robin and Lucina immediately got on the ground as a nearby pillar collapsed, followed by more ceiling debris and burning wood. As the last of the rubble settled, Robin rose to his feet, a thick cloud of dust and smoke lingering in the immediate area.

"Lucina!" he called between coughs.

"I'm here."

He turned around to see Lucina standing before him, the last of the smoke dissipating. He nearly dropped his tome when he saw the pulsing red eyes of a large creature standing behind her.

"_You have returned_."

Lucina looked up, staring straight into the horrifying eyes of Grima. He arched his head up and roared an ear-shattering cry, forcing the two fighters to cover their eardrums for safety. It seemed that the one causing all of the explosions from before was none other than the Fell Dragon himself. He was now glaring at the Smashers through the half-destroyed wall of the castle, watching them as if they were birds in a cage. The sky above them thundered and clapped with dark lightning.

"Grima!" shouted Lucina, drawing her sword close to her body defensively. Robin was taken aback by the sheer size of the dragon. It must have been as big as the castle itself!

"_The last of the exalted bloodline_," said the ominous voice of the horned creature. "_Surrender yourself to me at once_."

Lucina could feel her feet quivering in her boots. All of this newfound confidence, determination, and rage had swiftly gone down the drain faster than it had arrived. She didn't realize how afraid of Grima she actually was, and her standing frozen on the spot surely didn't make it look any better either. Robin was quick to take a notice of this and promptly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy there," he said to her. "We'll figure a way out of this."

"_And if it isn't you_," said Grima all of a sudden, as if he had just taken a notice of Robin's presence. "_The boy who cheated death_."

"What do you want from us?" asked Robin, completely ignoring the dragon's comment. He had to speak a little louder seeing as how large the creature was, but all this time he still had his hand firmly on Lucina's shoulder.

"_I seek nothing from you_." Grima's head arched from the mage to the swordswoman. "_But from the girl_."

Lucina pulled away from her friend aggressively. "I refuse to give in to the likes of you!"

"_On the contrary, little one, you will not have a choice in the matter_." The dragon raised its wings up high, causing Robin's eyes to widen in fear.

"Get down!" he cried, pulling Lucina to the ground yet again.

Grima's wings slammed down on the rocky edges of the castle's cliff, reducing the earth below their feet to nothing but rubble. Robin and Lucina soon found themselves falling down several stories to the town's level, while Grima beat his giant wings and took off into the darkened sky. Among the dust clouds, Lucina was able to regain her footing, and promptly stood up to investigate the area.

"Robin!" she called. "Where are you?"

"Over here," came a wounded voice from nearby.

Lucina glanced to the side to see Robin on the ground, a large pile of rocks piled on top of his legs, holding him in place. She immediately ran over to try and remove the rubble.

"It's no use," she said. "They're too heavy. Can you move?"

"It's no good I'm afraid," he replied. "Thankfully I didn't break anything. At least, I don't think I did… Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"Look sharp. Grima's still in the area. Don't do anything crazy."

Lucina stood up and noticed that she was standing before the town's square among the wreckage of burning buildings. This area was once home to many children and animals, now reduced to nothing but graves. Various bodies belonging to both friends and foes alike were scattered among the wreckage, but Lucina almost shrieked in fear when she saw what lay on the other side of the courtyard.

As the smoke began to dissipate, the two Smashers set their sights on a line of Ylissean soldiers who were all kneeling before them, a single Risen soldier standing behind each one with a blade at their throats. The allied soldiers all had burlap sacks on their heads to cover their identities, but their uniforms gave away all they needed to know anyway. Grima was hovering in the sky overhead, circling the area, yet his blood-curdling voice was still as audible as ever.

"_Behold the kingdom of Ylisstol in all its glory_," taunted the voice of the Fell Dragon.

"That bastard," muttered Robin. "He had this planned the whole time!"

Lucina couldn't bring herself to say anything. She just kept staring at the thirteen soldiers that were lined up ready to be executed. She knew that one false move would result in the deaths of all of those people, and she wasn't about to give up any more lives tonight.

"_Hear this, oh child of the Exalt!_" said the dragon from above. "_What lies before you are the final remaining soldiers of your pathetic army. Surrender, and I may very well spare their lives for whatever little value they are worth_."

Not only was he trying to come to terms with them, but he was also outright insulting the kingdom in every statement. Grima drove a hard bargain indeed.

"Don't listen to him Lucina!" cried Robin from behind. "It's a trick! Remember, this is all a dream! Those people aren't real!"

Was that true? Were those guards in the corridor, that soldier who had been held against the wall, and all of those Risen zombies just made up figments of her imagination? Did they have any real purpose besides being pawns made to fill the role of an event that had long since passed? If that was truly the case, then she really had nothing to lose. But even if that were true… could she deny that before the very people whose lives depended on her?

"What do you want from me?" she asked aloud, hoping to buy some time. With any luck, Megaman would notice her distress and wake her up any moment now.

"_You, child_," replied Grima instantly. "_It is you who has given me this wondrous place to live. This realm, a place that stretches beyond the gap of reality and fantasy. It is here where I thrive, and where I continue to grow. The only thing preventing me from attaining such power… is you_."

"My dreams?" she said.

"_Not just your dreams. Everything_." The dragon roared loudly again, this time causing the earth to rumble slightly. "_Enough of this idle conversation. You must choose your fate now: Surrender yourself to me, or watch your family and friends die by your own word_." One of the Risen nudged the tip of the blade closer to the throat of a soldier, causing the Ylissean to flinch with a cry of fear. "_If you need more convincing, then perhaps you should take another look into the eyes of destiny_."

One by one, each Risen soldier started removing the sacks from the heads of the captives. Each of the Ylissean soldier's faces were thankfully covered by their uniform, save for the eyes and part of the nose. Lucina's gaze immediately fell from one person to the next as each mask was removed, but she nearly dropped her sword when he recognized the face of the last man in the line.

"Captain Falcon!"

Captain Falcon, in all his ragged glory, was kneeling at the hands of the Risen, a bloody sword wedged against his neck, and various cuts and bruises lining his helmetless face. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be somewhat dazed. After getting a better look at him, Lucina noticed that his racer's uniform had been mostly torn, his trademark scarf seemingly gone without a trace. It looked as though he had been put right through a shredder, but it was still a relief to see that he wasn't dead.

"_Ah yes, you and this one are very good acquaintances, aren't you?_" came Grima's voice from up above. "_This one in particular was indeed a troublesome wart. He has learned his place, but I'm surprised his body can still hold together after what he's endured_."

Robin gritted his teeth in anger. It seemed now that Lucina truly was caught between a rock and a hard place. He tried reaching for one of his tomes, but to no avail. The best he could do at this point was offer her the best advice he could as a tactician, although he honestly didn't even know where to begin at deducing this problem.

"Lucina," said Robin as he tried to free his legs from the boulders. "No matter what happens, you must not let Grima take control of you." That's all he could bring himself to say, however, for he wasn't prepared to sacrifice Falcon for something that he really had nothing to do with. Truthfully, Grima was their problem, and Captain Falcon just so happened to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Looking at it like that was somewhat comforting in a way.

Despite his pleas, Lucina did not once look back at him to verify if she had heard him or not.

"_Now choose, girl_," said Grima again. "_Else the streets of Ylisstol shall run with more blood_."

"_I don't know what to do_," she thought, staring at the naked face of Captain Falcon. There wasn't much time to think about it, so she had no choice but to go with instinct. Either she sacrificed Captain Falcon in order to try and save herself and Robin, or she gives herself up to Grima so that Captain Falcon can live to see another day. One way or another, someone was going to die in this dream, and she simply wasn't prepared to accept that.

As if on cue, Captain Falcon opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto Lucina like darts. His eyes were cold, but fierce, and even on the brink of death they seemed to burn with the brightness of a thousand flames. She half-expected him to give some kind of smart remark like he always did in times of peril, but this time he said nothing. It was as if his entire spirit had been broken, and seeing him in such a shattered state like this was almost enough to bring her to tears.

Oddly enough, Falcon did end up giving some sort of sign, but it certainly wasn't something she would have expected in a million years.

Captain Falcon was smiling.

This wasn't a warm smile, or even a sarcastic smirk for that matter. Instead, Falcon seemed to be shining a grin that gave off a charismatic aura of confidence, as if he knew that today wasn't going to be his final day. Lucina could only stare dumbfounded at him, wondering if he had gone insane or something. It took her a few seconds to realize what he was getting at.

At world's end, in the face of unescapable danger, with a sword's edge right up against his throat, Captain Falcon was prepared to accept death. He fought Grima one on one with his bare fists and lived to tell the tale. This was a man who feared no evil, and if given the chance, would gladly spit into the eye of the devil himself. Lucina, on the other hand, feared the Fell Dragon most of all. For this was a timeline in which her mother and father were dead, and the Ylissean kingdom had fallen. She had spent this whole time trying to run away from her problems, when her friends were always there to help her stand up to fight against them. And even if Grima was the dragon destined to bring on the destruction of mankind, that didn't stop Captain Falcon from getting a good Falcon Punch in just for fun. He had made the ultimate sacrifice, and now he was smirking in the presence of his own executioner.

It was at that moment Lucina realized that she was nowhere near as brave as Captain Falcon was. Now she was given the opportunity to change all of that. And just as Captain Falcon had saved her life before, she was willing to repay her debt in the only way she could now.

From his position on the ground, Robin couldn't tell what Lucina was doing, or even thinking for that matter since her back was turned to him. All he could see was Falcon's gaze staring into her eyes, and for some reason, he was giving another one of those obnoxious grins that he did whenever he won a match in the tournament. The next thing he knew, Lucina had raised her Falchion up high and tossed it on the ground before her. Robin called her name, pleading for her to stop, but she refused to listen. She knelt to the ground and lowered her head before the Grima while putting an arm across her chest, a common sign of surrender among the Ylissean people.

He couldn't recall what happened after that since someone had come up beside him and struck him in the head with a club.


	23. Birds of Separate Feather

It Came from Lucina's Head

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**Author's Note:** Alright, I've been sick this whole week but I don't even care anymore, I'm posting the next chapter. -_-

* * *

Chapter 23: Birds of Separate Feather

* * *

With no recollection of how he ended up here, Robin trudged ever so carefully down the darkened halls. He had seen this place before—but only once—when he had ingested the Dream Tap in an attempt to join Lucina on her heroic quest to save Captain Falcon from Grima. Both sides of the hall were lined with doors bearing the names of his friends, but something about this area seemed different from before. The walls were still painted that putrid purple as the embedded red veins continued to pulsate like a beating heart. The mage could have sworn he saw twisted and grotesque faces peering at him through the patterns, however, he was more interested with why all of the doors had "Do Not Disturb" signs hanging on the knobs.

Even creepier was the fact that the doors seemed to have changed shape from before.

Previously, each of the doors were designed in a way that corresponded to the qualities of the person who resided within them. This time however, every door looked the exact same. From Donkey Kong to Jigglypuff, nothing special could be said about any of these rooms, but it didn't matter because Robin knew which door he was concerned with.

He eventually came upon Lucina's door looking about as boring and generic as every other door in the hall. Her room also had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on it, but as he approached the door, voices could be heard coming from the other side. It certainly sounded like Lucina, but from the frequency of whispers and sniffling, it sounded as if she was talking to someone… and crying.

"Lucina?" he asked, putting his hand on the doorknob.

"Please, just go," she said from the other side. Her voice was so distraught; it made the mage wonder what on earth she was doing in there. He fiddled with the knob for a few seconds realizing that the door wasn't actually locked.

"Hold on, I'll be right with you," said Robin as he squeezed tight and swiftly opened the door. Unfortunately, he didn't even get a chance to peer into the room due to the sheer amount of light that had escaped from it. He put his arm over his eyes, but the light was too blinding, and pretty soon he lost all sense of his sight. His ears popped, and his head started to ring as if someone had replaced his eardrums with two alarms clocks without a snooze button. The whiteness of it all quickly transitioned to black, and Robin found the ground below his feet disappearing in an instant.

He began to fall.

* * *

"Gah!"

Robin shot up from his bed panting for breath, his bed sheets soaked with sweat. He immediately looked around only to realize that he was back at the mansion in his own room. He put his hands through his hair, blinked both of his eyes rapidly, and even looked under the blanket to verify if every part of him was still intact.

Besides the bruise near his ankle, everything seemed fine.

"What time is it!?" he said aloud, although there was nobody around to hear him.

He glanced out the window to see the morning sun doing its thing and brightening up his warehouse of a dorm room. Dozens upon dozens of books were stacked everywhere from the desk, to shelves, even on the floor in some areas. This was nothing unusual for Robin however, as he always loved to read, but no amount of research would have prepared him for the crazy night that took place in Lucina's dream.

Oh yeah, Lucina's dream!

In a flash, the white-haired Smasher threw off his covers, strapped on his boots, and slid into the robe that was hanging by the end of the bed. In about four seconds, Robin had transitioned from bedhead to fully dressed and out the door. He stumbled a few times due to his leg wound, but it was a small price to pay for the sacrifice that Lucina had given last night… if what happened in that nightmare really came true.

"Hey Robin! What's the- HEY!"

The mage didn't even respond as he shoved past Ness in the halls, along with a few others. From the direction they were heading in, it looked like they were going to the dining room for today's breakfast (apple oatmeal with Lon Lon Milk, a choice pick by the Hyrulians) but Robin didn't even think twice about that. He pressed on to Lucina's room, praying that she somehow managed to escape that tragedy just as he did.

When he finally got to her door, he began slamming his fists on it like it was the end of the world.

"Lucina! Are you alright!?" he shouted.

Fox gave him a weird look from down the hall.

"Um… Is everything okay?" he asked from afar. Robin gritted his teeth.

"I'm not sure." He looked up at the door before turning back to the space pilot. "Fox, I need you to find Master Hand for me. Tell him that I need to speak with him and that it's urgent. Please."

Fox nodded his head and gave a salute.

"Roger that," he replied. "I always like to start my mornings off with a good mission. I'll get back to you as soon as I find him."

"Great, thank you."

Fox ran off as fast as his speedy legs could take him. Robin continued to hammer on the door, but stopped when he heard a familiar voice coming from the other side.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming! Keep your shirt on."

It was Megaman, and when he finally opened the door, Robin never thought he would be so happy to see the robot boy in his life.

"Oh good, you're still here Megaman," he said with a sigh of relief.

"Of course I'm still here," replied Megaman as he raised an eyebrow. "Did you think I was going to abandon my post or something?"

"Not at all. Is Lucina in there?"

"She is," said the boy casually. "But she's probably awake now from all your knocking."

"_By the gods, she better be_," thought Robin as he entered the room. He quickly scanned the area, trying to determine if anything was out of the ordinary. All of her belongings seemed intact, and he didn't mind the overwhelming scent of the air freshener that sat on her desk. Just as he would have hoped, he found Lucina lying in her bed beneath the covers and sound asleep.

"Lucina?" said Robin, gliding to her bedside and putting a hand on her cheek. "Lucina, speak to me."

"She must really be a heavy sleeper," commented Megaman from the side. "She didn't make a sound all night."

"Lucina, wake up," pressed Robin as he shook her shoulder. "It's morning."

Lucina made no response and continued to sleep. Her breaths were consistent, yet they seemed awfully slow, like the kind of breaths you would hear from someone dying in a hospital.

"Wake up, Lucina." He began shaking her more aggressively, lightly slapping her face, basically trying anything that would normally stir a person out of Dreamland. "Wake up. Dammit wake up!"

"Hey, take it easy," said the robot boy.

"Megaman," said Robin, his eyes locking onto the other Smasher like torpedoes. "Are you sure you didn't see anything happen last night?"

"I-I didn't!" replied Megaman nervously, somewhat taken aback by the mage's sudden change in attitude. "I was watching her the whole night, I swear! She didn't move a muscle! Well, she was tossing and turning for a few hours, but she wasn't sleeping during that time!"

"And she didn't say anything?" Robin's voice started to sound more and more distressed as he tried to grasp at whatever clues he could find. "You didn't hear her say one word?"

"Nothing." Megaman shook his head. "Believe me, I was on high alert for the whole night. She didn't move an inch or say anything. I thought that's what I was supposed to watch out for?"

Robin tore his view away from the other Smasher in disappointment. "You were," he said. "We told you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"And nothing suspicious happened!"

"That must have been the case then." Accepting the truth was hard, but he knew he couldn't get mad at Megaman. The boy did the job he was assigned, and he did it pretty darn well. Unfortunately, Robin hadn't anticipated Lucina remaining absolutely still in the night seeing as how all of her other encounters involved her physically struggling with some entity in one way or another. Seeing her still body like this was almost unsettling in a way, as if she was just a corpse.

Her beating heart and shallow breathing were the only things giving him hope.

"_She really did go through with it then_," he thought to himself. "_She made a deal with the devil_."

Robin was more surprised that Grima ended up letting him live even though there was no chance in Hell he would have survived that nightmare normally. Either that or he just so happened to wake up at the right time.

In any case, if he was back in the real world, then chances were Captain Falcon was as well. The F-Zero racer may have just gotten lucky by switching places with Lucina. It's not like it made the situation any better. As of matter of fact, it probably made it worse.

"Forgive me," said Robin. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just so worried about Lucina."

"It's okay, I understand," replied Megaman. "Now I just feel dumb though; I should have known something was up the moment she stopped moving."

"It's not your fault. You did all you could." Robin sighed before leaning over and kissing the girl on the forehead. "Don't worry, I'll figure out some way to get you out of this. I promise." He stood up. "There's not much we can do now, but I'm going to need some time to devise a new plan. Your job is done here."

Megaman nodded his head. "Gotcha. I'll be around if you need a helping hand. I'm gonna head back to my room and get a quick recharge."

"You do that then. I'll see you."

With that, the robot boy raised his arm cannon in response like a "thumbs up" before dashing off into the hall. Robin remained by Lucina's side for quite some time just staring at her, cursing to himself for letting her down. He racked his brains for an answer, or maybe even an excuse. There must have been something he could have done to prevent this! But that didn't matter anymore because she was trapped and who knew what Grima planned on doing with her now that she was in his blackened clutches. The dragon had so many opportunities to kill the both of them in the dream, or at least just Lucina. For some reason, he wanted her alive, and that just made Robin worry about her even more. Was she going to be tortured? Sacrificed? What would cause the Fell Dragon to go to such lengths just to take her?

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

Robin made his way out of the room, but not before taking one last glance at the sleeping girl in the bed. He hesitated at the door for a moment, reaching to grab the "Do Not Disturb" sign and hang it on the other side of the door so that no one would disturb her. He ended up dismissing this idea however, and leaving the sign where it was.

* * *

Approximately five minutes later…

* * *

"Falcon, wake up!" shouted Robin for the third time, smacking the racer upside the head.

Captain Falcon was still lying in the hospital bed where he had been left from the day before. Oddly enough, he didn't have very many wounds on his face despite the mess he was in during the nightmare. There were a few bumps, but most of them seemed to have healed at a rapid pace. He still had that scar going through the left side of his head, however, and Robin wasn't entirely sure if that was something new or a part of Captain Falcon that he had never noticed before. It could have been either considering Falcon never took off his helmet. To see him without the mask made him look almost like a rational human being.

After a few more attempts, Robin ended up just sitting on the side wondering what to do. Was Captain Falcon still trapped in the dream world? A sudden snore from the racer nearly caused him to jump out of his skin, at which point, he knew Falcon wasn't _that_ far away from reality. Without any hesitation, Robin went over to the sink and filled up a bucket of water before hobbling back over to the racer and dumping the entire contents on his head.

"WHOOAA it's snowin' in Hawaii today!" cried Falcon as he shot up from his slumber, his bed completely drenched in cold water. He began hacking and coughing for breath before noticing the young man standing next to him. "W-What the hell was that for!?" He began holding himself and shivering.

"To wake you up," replied Robin nonchalantly, the bucket handle dangling from his fingers. "Welcome back, Falcon."

Falcon grimaced at the mage as if he was face to face with a lifelong enemy. "Thanks for the wakeup call." He looked forward, or anywhere else that wasn't in the gaze of Robin. "Not."

Robin slid the bucket under the bed and handed the racer a towel, but Falcon still had his arms crossed and refused to accept it.

"W-Wait a second… Why is it so bright in here?" The manly Smasher paused for a few moments before putting his hands on his face. "Gah! W-Where's my h-helmet!?"

Robin responded by pointing to the nightstand directly next to him. Falcon scrambled to grab it, shivering as he put his iconic headgear back where it belonged. Now he was starting to look like the pain in the neck Robin remembered.

"Will you take this already?" he said, offering the towel.

Stubborn Falcon pouted and got up from the wet sheets before storming over to the towel rack and grabbing one, promptly knocking the rest of them over in the process. Why was he acting like this?

"I don't need your help," scoffed the racer as he began wiping his chest, backside, and underside dramatically. He paused momentarily before grabbing his head in pain. "God dammit… What the hell happened last night?"

"You were on the chopping block," replied Robin calmly, maintaining a serious expression to show the other Smasher this was no joking matter.

"No, before that," said Falcon as he stumbled a bit. "The bar… Wario… some party… Ugh, man this has to be one of the worst hangovers I've ever had."

"_Hangover?_" thought Robin. "_He must have drank himself stupid at that party the other night._"

Oddly enough, Robin was more impressed that Falcon's headaches carried over from two nights ago. Since he was in a coma for an entire day, the Dream Tap must have left his body in a stasis until he woke up again. Yet another small detail everyone's favorite big-nosed Italian forgot to mention.

"Lucina…" muttered Falcon. His head shot up as his mind caught up him. "Where's Lucina?"

"She's asleep," replied Robin. "And she won't wake up. She's now trapped in the dream world just as you were yesterday."

Falcon wrung out his towel, splashing puddles of water all over the floor without a care. A lone Waddle Dee suddenly scurried into the room and began cleaning up the mess with a mop before running over to pick up the dropped towels.

"Well that's just perfect," said Falcon sarcastically as he tossed the towel lightly into the air and caught it again. "And here I thought I was the one playing 'Mr. Hero.'" He dropped the cloth on the nearby Waddle Dee, blinding the poor creature for a few seconds and causing it to knock over all the towels it had previously refolded.

Robin was beginning to feel a little uneasy.

"Is something wrong, Falcon?" he asked. He didn't like the tone of voice the racer was giving him. Normally, Falcon was optimistic about any given situation, and he wouldn't be afraid to throw in a wise crack or dumb remark just to have a good time. Now, however, his words had a bit of a sour taste to them. Was he still upset about the water?

"No," replied the racer straightforwardly. "Why would something be wrong? I'm awake now after being trapped in a warped dimensional prison with some asshole dragon and his zombie minions for 24 hours! And now Lucina is by herself in there and neither of us can do a damn thing about it! Nope, everything's just fine and dandy, nothing could possibly go wrong now!"

Correction: He was still the same Falcon, just pushed a little too far off the deep end. Robin couldn't recall if he had ever seen the racer so mad in his life.

"Look, I'm worried about Lucina just as much as you are," said Robin, trying to calm down the Smasher. "But we're not going to get anywhere with this unless you cooperate with me."

The F-Zero racer seemed to spit at the tactician's remark, almost in a laughing manner. "Pfft. Me cooperate with you? I saved Lucina all by myself without your help or anyone else! I did it once, I can do it again. I can't think right now because my head is freakin' _killing_ me, and your voice is only making it worse." The racer paused for a moment. "Man, I need some food."

He briskly walked past the mage without giving him a second glance, but Robin persisted in trying to get through to him. He stopped in front of Falcon just as he was about to leave.

"Please, Falcon, you're the only one who can help me with this!" cried Robin, raising his voice in an attempt to halt Falcon's efforts. The Smasher stopped for about a moment before shoving past the tactician and making his way to the dining room.

"I'll think of something," said Falcon. "I just need a bite to eat first." Robin watched him go, hanging his head with a sigh. He heard the F-Zero racer bump into Mr. Game and Watch in the hall. "Mornin' Game! Ugh, I mean, outta the way stick man!" His voice was soon followed by a loud bump intp one of the walls and a beep of pain. Robin raised his eyebrow in confusion and stuck his head out the door to see Falcon helping the 2D man up. "Sorry about that, I was just trying to make a lasting impression. No hard feelings?"

"Falcon!" shouted Robin.

"Gah! Can't talk now, gotta go fast! Ugh, I mean, gotta go eat!"

The racer dashed off down the hall while Robin quickly gave chase, bypassing Mr. Game and Watch who just sighed a pixelated sigh. By the time he rounded the corner, Captain Falcon was already gone, and Robin's leg wound wasn't making things any easier.

"_What in the world is that idiot thinking?_" thought Robin as he slowed to a light jog in the direction of the dining room.

* * *

Meanwhile in the dining room…

* * *

Rosalina and some of the other Smashers had gathered near the center of the table where a game of Parcheesi had been laid out. Using her gravitational powers, she threw down the dice and began moving her blue pieces around the board with her wand. Ness, Lucas, Wendy, Lemmy, Pac-Man, and Pit watched in awe. Some other Smashers were busy chatting and eating in the area like any normal day, although some of the adults such as Link and Falco had stopped by just to see what all the fuss was about.

"So, that is the end of my turn," explained Rosalina as she handed the dice to her Luma, who then handed them off to Lucas. "Now Lucas, you may throw the dice and move your piece as many times as the number shows. Or you may move one of the pieces in the base."

"Uh… Okay…" replied the blond boy nervously as he tossed the dice on the table. He nearly flinched as the plastic pieces hit the board, turning up double ones.

"Oooh, snake eyes!" exclaimed Pit excitedly.

"S-Snake!?" cried Lucas. "Where!?"

"Not real snake eyes you dimwit," replied Wendy. "It's just an expression."

"Oh…" The boy moved his piece two spaces across the board before handing the dice over to Lemmy. "Did I do a Parcheesi yet?"

"No Lucas, only if you get a piece in the base can you 'Do Parcheesi,'" replied the cosmic princess casually.

"I don't think that's a real thing," whispered Link to Falco. The bird just shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay Lemmy, now it's your move."

The little Koopaling stared at the dice in his hand before promptly shoving them into his mouth and swallowing them.

"Did I win?" he asked.

"Ugh, Lemmy not again…" muttered his sister in disappointment.

"No worries," replied Rosalina as she produced another pair of dice from out of nowhere. "I always have more."

Suddenly, the western doors to the dining room slammed open, and everyone turned their attention towards the man in blue standing triumphantly at the entrance.

"Never fear friends!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, putting a strong arm up in salute. "At long last, your dear Captain has returned!"

Everyone at the Parcheesi part of the table blinked before turning back to their game. Apparently, some of them weren't even aware that he was missing in the first place. Either that, or they didn't think it was really a big deal to begin with.

"Falcon? You're awake!" said Ike from his spot at the end of the table. Falcon turned his attention towards him to see the mercenary sitting with Shulk, Meta Knight, and Toon Link. He strolled over towards the group with a smirk on his face.

"Thought I was gone for good eh?" he said, sitting down next to Ike. "Hey Waddle Dees! Hit me!" A bowl of hot oatmeal suddenly slid all the way down the table, hopping over the game of Parcheesi before landing right in front of him. "Not sure how that happened, but I'll take it!" He began munching away without a care in the world.

"How are you feeling?" asked Shulk, handing his finished bowl over to a passing servant.

"I feel great!" replied Falcon, his mouth full of half-eaten oats. "A little hungry… Actually _really_ hungry… And I have a headache… But it's nothing that can slow me down!"

"Well that's good to hear," replied Ike, a spoon dangling from his mouth. "We were just talking about you."

Falcon grabbed the coffee mug next to him and began chugging it down. "You were?"

"Yeah, we were wondering when you were going to wake up," said Toon Link. "You're so lucky to get a full day of sleep."

"Not nearly as lucky, kid," said the F-Zero racer. "I was in a coma because of some scrap with a headless dragon, but it's all taken care of now."

"Headless dragon?" asked Meta Knight.

"Yeah, you know that Gremo guy or whatever his name is. I took care of him."

"You did?" asked Ike skeptically.

"Oh yeah man, it was totes easy sauce."

"H-How did you do it?" said Toon Link eagerly.

Falcon dropped his bowl, already cleaned and polished. He slammed his hand on the table, causing another bowl to whiz by and land perfectly in his gloved hand.

"It wasn't easy, but I managed to subdue the foul beast without even touching him!"

"Really?..."

Ike and Shulk exchanged a glance of surprise, but the more Falcon spoke, the more they were starting to disbelieve him.

"You bet." The racer took another few large bites of oatmeal before grabbing his spoon and standing up, putting a leg on the table. "So there I was, a lone wanderer in a broken and desolate wasteland of an Ylissean kingdom. Every building in the city was on fire. People were being eaten alive by flesh-eating zombies, and the royal force couldn't stand a ghost of a chance against the enemy. I rose up from the ashes of a fallen falcon (phoenix), and sprang into action! They surrounded me—each and every zombie in the army—and I was just one man, caught in the face of danger. Then I saw Lucina, up the highest room of the tallest tower of the castle, and-"

"Wait, you saw Lucina?" asked Shulk.

"Let me finish!" hollered Falcon as he took his spoon and held it up like a microphone. "I could hear her cries, her pleas for help, the fair maiden Lucina in all her blue-haired beauty as she shouted from the tower, 'Save me Hero Falcon!'"

"Alright, I've heard enough of this," said Ike, getting up to leave.

"Wait, I'm just getting to the best part!" Falcon glanced down and noticed Toon Link was looking at him with eager eyes, eating up every single word of his false story like candy. "So I called back her name! 'Fair Lady Lucina! Do not fear! For I am just one man against all odds! And I will stop at nothing to set you free!' I pulled the Ragnell from its sheath, and I-"

"Ragnell?" interrupted Ike. "That's my-"

"And I _leapt_ from my perch with the speed, dexterity and strength of a level 78 Final Fantasy Knight!" He began striking dramatic poses with the spoon in his hand. "Aether! Dolphin Slash! Back Slash! PK Fire! And one by one the enemy fell, too confused and weak to comprehend the power of my blows!"

"You don't know any of those moves…" muttered Shulk.

"You can't even use a sword!" exclaimed Ike.

"Finally, when all the ranks were defeated, there I stood among the bodies of the dead, a corrupted and crippled shell of my former self. Little did I know that the true battle was merely beginning, and Gremo appeared right before my own eyes! At that moment, I realized it was now or never, and that any wrong move would surely be the death of me. But the madness didn't stop there, oh no! Because as dark and powerful Gremo was, there was still one other enemy that had the nerve to show up to this battle! And there was no way in hell that I would have seen it coming in a million years! He showed up just like that!" Falcon snapped his fingers.

There was a dramatic pause for a few seconds while Ike, Shulk, and Meta Knight all shook their heads. Some of the Waddle Dees had joined Toon Link to listen in on Falcon's epic tale, but the other Smashers in the room were still too preoccupied with their own conversations or games to care. Zelda and Peach, who were enjoying a nice hot cup of tea on the side, sighed at yet another one of Falcon's usual antics.

Coma or no coma, the mansion sure was a lot livelier now that he was back in town.

"Who showed up?" asked Toon Link.

"It is the one hideous demon who threatened to take the fair maiden Lucina away from our hero! And that demon just so happened to be-"

The doors slammed opened again, this time revealing a tuckered out Robin who was breathing heavily with his hands on his knees.

"There you are… Falcon," he said between breaths.

The racer's face seemed to freeze as he saw the mage, but the others didn't notice.

"Oh, morning Robin," greeted Ike from his seat. The tactician approached the group of Smashers while Falcon promptly got off the table and sat down.

"Good morning everyone," replied Robin with a small smile before glancing at Falcon. "I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but I need to borrow Falcon for a moment."

"Can't a guy eat a meal in peace!?" retorted the racer. He didn't realize he had already finished his food long before the end of that dramatic speech.

"Did you see Lucina this morning?" asked Shulk curiously.

Robin held his tongue for a few seconds.

"I did," he replied hesitantly. "Unfortunately, things didn't go as we planned."

"What do you mean?" asked Ike.

"Well…" Robin averted his gaze slightly before continuing. "Let's just say that in order to get Captain Falcon out of the dream… she was forced to leave herself behind in his place."

All of the Smashers turned towards Falcon with an angered look. The racer began shaking nervously in his boots.

"Heheh," he muttered. "I was getting to that part."

"You mean to tell us that she's trapped in there now!?" asked Ike.

"I'm afraid so," continued Robin. "It was foolish of us to put such a grave task on her shoulders." He glanced at Falcon to see if he was going to blow his cover, but the racer seemed too nervous to do anything. "She's sleeping in her room right now, but for how much longer I'm not quite sure."

A sad silence befell the group for a few moments.

"So Megaman didn't find anything?" said Shulk all of a sudden.

"Nothing. Apparently she was sleeping soundly the entire night. Don't worry though, I've already thought of a new plan. Since Lucina is asleep, there's a chance that we can go into the dream world and save her by ourselves, but we're going to need some more of that Dream Tap in order to do it."

"We scoured the bar to no avail," replied Meta Knight calmly. "Wario claims to have no more samples of the drug."

"_Was the one I stole from him the last sample?_" thought the tactician to himself.

"Didn't Master Hand say he would fire anyone who uses that stuff?" asked Toon Link.

"Shh," replied Ike. "He doesn't know anything about this yet."

"So what's plan B then?" asked Shulk.

"P-Plan B?" replied Robin. Truth be told, he didn't come with a backup plan assuming that the Smashers already had their hands on some more Dream Tap. Plan A was pretty simple: Use the Dream Tap to go back into Lucina's dream and save her without dying. Plan B well… They could always just tell Master Hand. Robin's gaze fell to each and every one of his friends as he tried to conjure a response, but his train of thought stopped when he noticed Falcon was trying to avoid eye contact with him. This of course only made him even more suspicious. "Plan B, right. Let me get back to you on that. Falcon, can I speak with you in private please?"

The racer seemed to jump in surprise at the sound of his name.

"H-Huh who? Me?" he asked, as if he didn't know already. His drastic change in attitude was the one thing that was bothering Robin the most this morning. The F-Zero racer had gone from one hundred percent sourpuss to life-of-the-party fun guy in a matter of seconds between the hospital wing and the dining room. Something was definitely amiss here.

"Yes, you," replied Robin seriously. "Come." He gestured for Falcon to follow him out the door.

Falcon sat there for a few seconds wondering what to do. He glanced around at the others, realizing that he couldn't make up an excuse with all of them being here. Eventually, he sighed and got up from his seat, following the mage back out into the hall. The remaining Smashers just sat there and tried to make heads or tails of the past few seconds.

"Hey, did anyone notice Falcon acting a little weird this morning?" asked Ike.

"He seemed fine to me," replied Shulk. "A little more excited than usual, but fine."

"Something is bothering him," said Meta Knight calmly as he closed his eyes. "And Robin will realize it soon enough."

The other Smashers all looked at the Star Warrior, wondering how on earth the guy always seemed to know the answer when it came to people and emotions.

"I just hope Lucina's okay," muttered Ike. "We promised her we would be there for her."

"We will get our chance," replied Meta Knight.

And there he goes again.

* * *

Meanwhile in the hall…

* * *

"Look Falcon, I don't know how else to say this," started Robin as he stood before the F-Zero racer, boxing him against a wall, "but this attitude of yours needs to stop."

Falcon had his arms crossed as he rolled his eyes; he didn't seem at all fazed by Robin's words.

"Oh please," he scoffed. "What are you, my mother all of a sudden?"

"Enough of this stubbornness!" replied Robin, casting an arm to the side. "I don't know if you realize this but acting like a jerk isn't going to bring Lucina back! We need to come up with a plan, and I'm only asking you because we're the only ones who have been in the dream world before!"

Suddenly, a wild Kirby appeared in the middle of the heated conversation. The pink puffball glanced up at the two Smashers with a "Poyo?" before waltzing past them and into the dining room.

"Don't you think I already know that?" said Falcon in irritation. "I already got her ass out of this mess once before! And your plan just ended up getting her stuck back in there again! You're the '_Master Tactician_' so why don't you take a hike and figure out a way to save her yourself?"

Robin gritted his teeth in annoyance. Apparently this Smasher's skull was thicker than the helmet on his head.

"Because…" the mage started, raising a finger but dropping it in defeat. "Because I can't. I can't do it alone. Not when Grima has her life in his claws."

"That's a lousy excuse. Grima ain't got nothin' on us. You weren't there when I slammed his ass into the ground. You're just being a pussy."

The tactician's ears twitched at the sound of that last word. "W-What… What did you just call me?"

"You're a _pussy_, Robin," responded the racer, putting a little more emphasis on the word with a snooty grin. "Just a scared little bird afraid to get his wings clipped by the big bad boogey monster. I bet you would have wet your pants if you saw that movie with us last week."

Robin gripped his fist in anger. At this point, Falcon was just throwing out plain insults at him. But for what reason? Surely he cared about saving Lucina just as much as everyone else did? It seemed that it wasn't enough to try and get Falcon to show sympathy for him. There was something about the white-haired tactician that the F-Zero racer just didn't seem to like one bit.

"You have no idea what the Fell Dragon is capable of," said Robin, trying to maintain his composure. "I saw it with my own eyes, and I barely survived. Sure I'm scared, but at least I'm willing to put my life on the line for her. Not like you who just wants to stay here and pout all day."

Falcon grimaced at his remark. Admittedly, the racer did look pretty scary when he was angry, and this was an emotion that the Smashers rarely ever saw from him. Well, there was that one time when he and Samus had gotten into that quarrel over tournament rulings with Items, but other than that, he was usually a pretty outgoing guy.

"I'll figure out a way to save her on my own," replied Falcon, turning his head to the side. "There are plenty of Smashers in this building, and getting a rescue team together wouldn't take long at all. If you think it's better to go crying to Master Hand though, then be my guest."

"You're forgetting that without the Dream Tap, there's no way either of us will be able to rescue her." Robin's raised his voice slightly, but took control of himself by the end of it. The worst part about having an argument was that thoughts tended to get clouded by anger and frustration. And with anger and frustration in the mix, well, things would only go from bad to worse.

"I'll find some," said Falcon with a nod. "Wario and I go way back. He'd be more than willing to hand over any extra samples of the stuff he's got… probably somewhere hiding in his butt crack or something. Plus, I know he's interested in hearing about my experience with the Dream Tap. So do whatever you want. I don't care."

The racer got off the wall, causing Robin to stumbled backwards. The mage hadn't anticipated Falcon being so stubborn with him. He figured that both of them having a common goal would be more than enough to get him on the same side, but then again, he shouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place! Just a few minutes ago Falcon was gallivanting across the dining table and preaching to Smashers. Why was there such a sudden change in attitude whenever he wanted to talk to him one on one? Logically, it didn't make any sense to the mage, and to be frank, he was getting sick and tired of the whole thing.

He could feel his blood beginning to boil.

Just as Falcon was about to turn to leave, Robin reeled back and socked him in the face. Falcon barely flinched from the hit, and remained to stand about a head taller than the other fighter. Robin didn't expect him to take a full out punch so easily, but then again, hand-to-hand combat wasn't exactly his forte. The only visual response the racer made was a smirk—the same one he gave when was about to be executed in the dream—before he retaliated with a punch of his own. Seeing as how well-trained Falcon was in martial arts, the force of the blow ended up knocking Robin several feet down the hall, the poor tactician landing on his back with a thud. Falcon cracked his knuckles before he began walking in the other direction.

"You have no idea how good that felt," he muttered, strolling as if he didn't have a care in the world. He didn't know where he was going, but it didn't really matter just so long as it was far away from Robin. Robin just ended up lying on the ground for a minute, feeling the bruised spot on his face where he had been struck. A part of him wanted to give up in defeat, but he knew deep down inside that there were more important things at stake right now. It looked like it was going to take much more to convince Falcon than he thought.

"_Well, it could have been worse. At least it wasn't a Falcon Punch_."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, Falcon is still feeling salty about that kiss in the hospital wing. Robin doesn't know he's aware of that though. Will the two be able to find a compromise? Find out next time in the next exciting episode (er, chapter) of It Came from Lucina's Head! (Crying my eyes out right now from looking at a screen for too long… my eyeballs are literally rolling around on the floor… dang it I hate being sick…).


	24. Friendly Competition

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** I apologize for not replying to any reviews this time, as I've been sick pretty bad this whole week. When I have seven layers of blanket on me and I'm STILL shivering, that's when I know it's bad… I'm still not better yet but I'm better than I was earlier on in the week. Thank you to the epic pokemonrhoades, the chillin' Gamerfan64, the kooky prowessMaster44, the wonderful Hahli Nuva, the hyper-active WR3000, the simply fantastic pk-smash-attack, my good man Dapper Dee VI, crazy crazycarl364, sweet little Pitta, the lovely MahNati, my homeboy Circuit's Dead, the awesome Lizardon the Awesome, beautiful Digilady99, adorable Namgum, the coolest dude I know F-ZeroSamus, and my awesome guest reviewers. Thank you all so much for sticking true to this story from the beginning, and thank you to all of you who favorited and followed! I wish I could give something to you in return, but I guess you'll just have to be happy with the next update. *Collective sigh* Thanks for reading everyone, and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 24: Friendly Competition

* * *

The rest of Robin's Thursday morning didn't go exactly as he planned since he spent a good portion of it cleaning up the bruise near his left eye, among other regular morning routines such as hair-combing, teeth-brushing, and mouthwash-gargling. A few centimeters to the right, and he would have ended up with a black eye, something that he wouldn't feel too proud of showing off to the other Smashers. He had spilled into the dining room earlier to inform the guys that he was going to be a bit late on getting back to them on Lucina's whereabouts. He didn't promise that she was alright, but he prayed that he would have enough time to think of something. If she was still with Grima, then that could only mean bad news, and Falcon was his ticket to getting her back whether he liked it or not.

Captain Falcon's case was a more peculiar one to him at that. At first, Robin had suspicions that the Fell Dragon had somehow brainwashed Falcon from inside Lucina's dream, turning him into a hate-driven monster. He was convinced otherwise of this, however, immediately when he saw Falcon bump into Mr. Game and Watch and then promptly apologize. Not only that, but he caught him entertaining ("entertaining") a group of Smashers in the dining room with made up stories just like he always did from time to time, and even then he appeared about as harmless as Jigglypuff after a missed Rest. But getting a glare from him was something that he did not expect, especially when he figured that he and Falcon were both on good terms with each other. They've pretty much both been to Hell and back, so why couldn't they at least talk about it? The more he thought about it, the more Robin was beginning to think this little problem of Falcon's had nothing to do with Grima. No, this issue was definitely stemming from something that sat between just him and the racer, but for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

With a shake of his head and a sigh, Robin pulled on his robe, checked himself one last time in the mirror, and headed out the door back into the halls of the mansion. The bruise on his face was still there, but it was not nearly as noticeable as when he was first struck.

He was looking at the ground as he rounded the next corner, his mind fogging up with questions between Falcon and Lucina. He took a few more steps before he looked up, freezing on the spot when he saw Captain Falcon poking his head down the next hallway. Robin hastily stumbled back, scrambling behind the corner he came from and stuck his head out just as Falcon was some fifteen feet down the hall.

Captain Falcon was standing in a small alcove in the side of the hall, an alcove where two broom closets were stationed. These types of closets were common in the mansion and were required to be in every hall in order to give Waddle Dees easy access to supplies in case they needed it. The F-Zero racer, however, was just standing off to the side, glancing down the next hall as if he was waiting for someone. The hall stretched on for several more feet before breaking off into a stairwell, and Robin almost lost his balance when he had to duck behind the wall again after seeing Falcon glance back at him.

"_What's he doing?_" thought Robin curiously. "_Did he see me?_"

He stuck his head out to see Falcon facing the other direction again. Falcon was up against the wall and crouching slightly, holding the edge of the wallpaper in anticipation. From a third-person perspective it was a pretty funny scenario, as Robin appeared to be spying on Falcon, while Falcon appeared to be spying on someone else.

"_Good, he didn't see me. But what's he waiting for?..._"

They were on the second floor of the west side, which was where most of the dorm rooms were situated. Heck, Robin barely spent a minute walking in the halls before he stumbled upon the racer in the first place! There was a likely chance that he was waiting for someone, but Robin couldn't tell who it was because he didn't know any of the residents on this side of the hall. The two Smashers ended up sitting there for a few minutes in silence, and it pained Robin to be there for every second.

"_Dammit. I should go talk to him. But I want to find out what he's up to. What if he's-_"

"Hi Robin!"

Robin nearly lost his balance at the sound of Peach's voice behind him. He immediately pulled back around the corner again just as Falcon was turning to see what that noise was. Just as he thought, Princess Peach was standing there beside him with a smile on her face and a large book under her arms. He had to double-back and check if Falcon had seen him before facing the pink princess in conversation.

"Shh, keep your voice down," said Robin quietly. "I don't want him to hear."

"Want who to hear?" she replied in a hushed tone. She poked her head out from around the corner, catching a glimpse of Falcon who was still patiently waiting in the alcove. "Captain Falcon?"

"Yes," said Robin. "He's up to something; I just know he is. I'm waiting to see what he's going to do next."

She turned her head to glance at the racer one last time before facing Robin with smile that said, "Really?"

"Can you not tell he's acting suspicious?"

"He looks like he's acting like normal Captain Falcon to me." She finished that sentence with a sweet smile before morphing the gesture into a sly grin. "I'd say you're the one acting suspicious spying on him."

Robin seemed almost taken aback by her remark."Wh-Me? You can't be serious."

"I don't blame you though; he does have some nice legs. Although personally, I've always admired his front side more than the back." The casual way in which she said that was starting to make Robin feel uncomfortable, and it was because of this that it took him more than a few seconds to figure out what she was alluding to.

"Okay look, this isn't what it looks like," he said straightforwardly. "I am not 'spying' on Captain Falcon."

"You just said you were."

"Not for _that_ reason! He looks like he's getting ready to mug an old lady! And honestly, how could you even think that when you clearly come from a background of royalty and tradition?"

"Well you _are_ a Fire Emblem character…" she muttered, turning her head to the side.

"I'm not gay!"

"Mmhm, that's what they all say. Don't worry Robin, your secret's safe with me. I wouldn't get your hopes up for Captain Falcon though." She leaned in close to him, lowering her voice just a teensy bit more. "Between you and me, I think he's got his eyes set on someone else."

Robin's thoughts instantly went to Lucina. Could it be that Falcon had feelings for her too? He didn't want to believe it. In fact, just thinking about it was starting to make his stomach churn, and he dreaded the thought of losing that perfect girl to a bonehead like Captain Falcon. But then again, Peach never gave a definite answer. How many possible women did that give him if he ignored the ones that already slapped Falcon in the past?

"Good for him then," was all the mage could say in response. He was starting to grow tired of this conversation already, and he honestly never knew Peach to be such a busybody. She would admit to being a sucker for gossip however, and Robin anticipated such crude rumors about him to be spread throughout the entire mansion in less than 24 hours.

"If it's bothering you so much, I can ask him what he's doing if you'd like," said Peach casually, hugging the book of hers closer to her chest.

"No, that won't be necessary," replied Robin. "I can handle this situation by myself just fine thank you." He glanced at the object in her arms curiously. "What are you doing up here anyway, Princess? I thought you'd be having tea with Zelda at this time of day like you normally do?"

"We were," she said. "And then somehow we got on the topic of Lucina's party and she wanted the recipe for the cake. I wrote it down from a long time ago so I was just coming up here to get it for her."

"Ah yes, the party." Robin shook his head at the thought, seeing as how he wasn't able to attend at the time. "I heard that your cake was the highlight of the evening."

"It wasn't just _my_ cake. Captain Falcon and Charizard helped too!"

"That… sounds hard to believe."

"I know right? But hey, at least now you know he can bake! And to me that's always been an attractive skill in a man."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Anyway, ta-ta Robin! You have yourself a nice day!" She began briskly skipping past him and around the corner towards Falcon.

"Wait, Peach!" said Robin after her, but he quickly pulled himself back for fear of being spotted by the racer. He stuck his head out again just in time to see the pink princess skipping past Captain Falcon nonchalantly.

"Good morning, Captain Falcon!"

"Oh! Uh, 'morning, Peach."

And she continued on her merry way with her book in her arms, leaving Robin to just sit there at the end of the hall shaking his head in confusion. "_What a strange girl…_" He was soon back to being on guard duty however, waiting patiently for another few minutes or so while Falcon continued to stare down the corridor, occasionally reaching back to adjust his uniform or scratch his backside. He was beginning to think that the F-Zero racer was leading him on some kind of wild goose chase and half-expected him to turn around and shout, "Haha fooled you!" just to spite him from their earlier conversation.

All these thoughts and more ran through his head until he was snapped back into reality at the sound of a door unlocking.

Wario had emerged from the darkness of his dorm room, stepping into the hall and locking the door behind him. He was always known for showing up to breakfast late due to constant sleeping in, and it looked like Falcon had chosen the exact time at which the fat man would take his leave. Falcon had his back flat against the wall, waiting for Wario to vacate the premises, while Robin observed the situation from a safe distance.

Eventually, Wario began waddling in the direction of the stairs, which Falcon immediately reacted to. He crouched down and began sneaking along the floor as if this was some sort of low-budget spy film, mimicking Wario's steps as he tailed him from a few feet away.

"_Oh, I see now_," thought Robin from afar. "_He was waiting for Wario to leave so he could sneak into the room. Good plan, but the door's obviously locked_."

Just as Falcon was about to reach the door, Wario stopped dead in his tracks, causing Falcon to freeze. Robin immediately felt his muscles tense up.

"_He's been spotted!_"

Wario whirled around in the blink of an eye, but Falcon was quicker and was able to swiftly pull out a cardboard box from seemingly out of nowhere and lift it over his crouched body on the floor. He sat perfectly still beneath the box, and by the time Wario caught a glimpse of it, it looked as though the box had been there the whole time.

Robin almost wanted to say something in protest.

"_That idiot! He thinks that's going to fool him!?_"

Oddly enough, it seemed to be taking a lot longer for Wario to notice the cardboard box in front of his room. The fat man's eyes scanned the halls up and down, all the while he was muttering, "Hmm," as if he knew someone was following him but he just couldn't place it. Robin couldn't get over how he didn't notice the box that had only been placed there a few seconds ago, not to mention the fact that the box alone looked oddly suspicious. After a few more moments of scanning, the Italian man shrugged his shoulders before his nose caught the scent of something sweet and tasty cooking in the dining room. He waddled his way down the stairs gleefully until the sound of his footsteps disappeared with his body odors.

"_Maybe he forgot to put his contacts in?_" He had no idea if Wario wore contacts (or even glasses for that matter), but there is no way in hell any normal person would be fooled by the stunt Captain Falcon just pulled.

Falcon pulled the box off of himself and stood up tall, stretching his limbs for a few seconds before crouching down by Wario's door and fiddling with the knob. He had what appeared to be lock- picking tools in his hands, another peculiar talent that he never knew the racer had. If he had been here for the previous tournament, it's possible he would have mistaken Captain Falcon for another specific Smasher entirely. He ended up just standing there on the corner watching the racer for a while before sucking it up and making his way over to Falcon's position.

"I'm not sure how you managed to pull that off," said Robin as he leaned on the wall beside the door. "But it was impressive to say the least."

Falcon appeared to be working the lock on the door with a hairpin and a metal toothpick, impressing Robin even further with how resourceful he could be.

"An old friend taught me that trick," replied Falcon calmly as he worked. "Back when he used to live here with us."

"Oh, he was a Smasher then?" asked Robin, even though the remnants of their last conversation were still fresh in his head. He was hoping that Falcon's mind would be clear after letting off all that steam, and by the looks of it, it actually was for a change.

"He was." The sound of a tumbler clicking came from the knob before Falcon stuck the hairpin a bit further in. "Solid Snake is what he's known as, but if you were a friend, you just called him Snake."

"Snake, huh." Robin kicked at the floor, glancing at the upturned cardboard box nearby. "What was he like?"

"He was probably one of the best fighters we ever had," said Falcon. "But he was also a great guy to just hang around and knock back a few drinks with. We used to pull all kinds of pranks on the princesses back in the day… It wasn't always fun and games with him though. He had a knack for just disappearing for hours on end without telling anybody and would just show up the next day out of the blue. You were lucky if you ever got a chance to talk to him face to face."

The description of Snake reminded Robin of Meta Knight and how the Star Warrior had his own way of appearing behind people without any word or warning. It made him wonder what kind of battle tactics this Solid Snake used in brawls, but as curious as he was to learn more about him, he knew this wasn't the reason why he had approached Falcon in the first place.

"Was he…" The mage paused for a second, thinking about how he wanted to word this. "Was he a hard person to talk to?"

Another tumbler clicked out of place, but Falcon seemed to give no reaction to it.

"He was for some. A lot of people thought he was scary at first, with those dark features and the fact that he towered over most of the others. When you got to know him, it turned out he was a pretty down-to-earth guy. I guess people never really took the time to warm up to him."

That last statement tugged at Robin's conscience more than he would have liked to admit. When he first joined the Smash Bros., he felt a lot like Snake did in the fact that everyone around him was just a stranger. He made a lot of his judgements based on first impressions, and could tell immediately after the first week who he did and did not want to make friends with. Needless to say, when he met Captain Falcon, he thought he was a loser. The racer had a reputation for gallivanting around the mansion, telling tall tales, hogging the spotlight, and more or less making a fool of himself. Perhaps this wasn't a way of putting himself down, so much as it was a way to make others feel better about themselves? He had to admit, even that kind of effort was a bit of a stretch for Falcon. But like he said, perhaps Robin never took the time to warm up to the F-Zero racer in the first place?

"Falcon," said Robin all of a sudden, the words of the racer biting at him like a Klaptrap. "I… I want to apologize for before." Falcon removed his tools from the lock and just stared at the doorknob in front of him. "Back there in the hall I mean. I'm sorry for hitting you. Can you…" He couldn't believe he was saying this. "Can you forgive me?"

Falcon just sat there and stared at the door for a few more seconds. Robin was beginning to have some doubts, and wondered if the racer would just laugh in his face at his attempt at a sympathetic apology. It turned out Falcon was having some inner thoughts of his own, and Robin noticed this as it took him an unusually long time to respond to his warming gesture.

"I can," was what he said after some hesitation. "But… only if you can forgive me first."

Robin blinked, unsure of where this answer came from. This was certainly another side of Falcon he had never seen before. Not that he was complaining or anything; he'd rather speak to this Falcon than the one who punched him in the face any day.

"I have a confession to make," said Falcon all of a sudden. He still refused to look at Robin in the eyes, but didn't seem to budge from his position on the floor. "Whenever I see you and Lucina together… it just makes me so… mad. I don't know what it is, but it bothers me so much to the point where I want to punch a hole through something. I kind of… took that anger out on you this morning. And after thinking about it, I realized that it's not just you, but it's also her. Lucina loves you, and no matter how much I hate it, there's nothing I can do about it. So why should I be upset? Seeing her happy is the only thing I care about… And when she's with you, she _is_ happy." He took a deep breath and sighed. "So I'm sorry too, Robin. And I'm sorry for calling you a pussy."

Robin shuddered at the mere mention of the word, but he ignored it seeing as how Falcon had good intentions. And who would have thought that his suspicions about Falcon would be right the whole time? Robin had to admit that hearing this coming straight from the horse's mouth was almost heartbreaking to him in a way. Deep down inside he knew that Falcon wasn't a bad guy. He was just looking for somebody to love.

"It's okay," replied Robin. "I'm just glad I can stand here and finally talk to you."

"Yeah," said Falcon, taking another deep breath. "That actually feels good to get off my chest."

"So you've been in love with Lucina this whole time?" he asked curiously.

"I guess so." Falcon shrugged. "I really don't know what else I would call it. I've never felt this way for any other girl before. She and I, we… We get along really well I think. And for a moment when I saw her standing there in the burning square of the town… I thought she had the same feelings for me. But then I remembered your kiss."

Robin bit his lip. So it turns out that first kiss they shared in the hospital wing wasn't a complete secret. This only went on to explain why Falcon took the initiative to secure a sample of the Dream Tap and dive into Lucina's dream without telling anyone.

"As much as I hate to see that," continued Falcon, "I know now that I can't make her decisions for her. And if she really loves you back, well, there's nothing I can do about it." He paused momentarily, giving the mage a queer glance. "Unless you seduced her with you voodoo magic."

"I… can't do that," replied Robin bluntly. "And even if I did, I wouldn't go so far as to manipulate a girl like that."

"Whatever you say. At this point, I'm just trying to figure out a way to save her from Grima. I may not have another chance with her, but she saved my life last night. The least I can do is pay the piper and try to bring her back home in one piece."

He went back to fiddling with the lock, although now he had to start all over since he got distracted. Robin was pretty disheartened to see him acting so glum. He had transitioned from one extreme to another, and now the mage was starting to wish the old Captain Falcon was back; the optimistic one with the big mouth. If Lucina truly was this Smasher's driving motivation, then Robin knew there was really only one way he'd be able to get him to cooperate.

"She likes you, you know," said Robin all of a sudden, to which Falcon responded with an interested glance.

"Hm?"

"She likes you." He leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. "Every time I talk to her, she's always on about how funny you are, or how much joy you bring to the people around you. It really puts a smile on her face, and I'd be lucky if I could get her to talk about anything else that didn't have your name tied to it in one way or another." He was exaggerating a little bit, but he wasn't exactly too far off either. Lucina did enjoy talking about Captain Falcon, and she truly thought he was one of the most caring and compassionate Smashers she ever met. He was a little rough around the edges sure, but once you got to know him, he was easily anyone's best friend.

At this point, Falcon had dropped his tools again and raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"Huh. So I'm more than just the 'life of the party,'" he said, recalling what Robin had told him last week when they started to get more involved with the nightmares.

"What I'm saying is, I'm not sure if she truly has feelings for me." This was a blatant lie, but next to magic, acting was one of his best traits. "I mean, we've kissed before, but I never thought there was any meaning behind them. There was no love, no feeling, just empty artificial kisses that barely had any kind of lasting impression." Falcon continued to stare, but it didn't seem as if he was getting the message. It looked like Robin was going to have to spell it out for him. "You still have a chance with Lucina. But if you really want her, you're going to have to fight for her."

Falcon pondered on this for a few moments. The thought of Lucina being free and single was more than enough motivation to shift his gears into maximum overdrive, but could he really believe that after seeing what Robin and her had been through in the past? There must have been some kind of catch.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I was convinced that she always had a thing for you."

"Maybe she does," replied Robin, shrugging a little. "I don't know, I can't read people's minds. You know how complex women are anyway."

"Don't I know it…"

"Why don't we leave it up to fate then?" he said with a grin. "Let's both do our best and bring Lucina back. Then, when this whole fiasco is over and done with, we'll let her decide for herself. Two sides of the same Smash Coin."

Falcon put a gloved finger to his chin hesitantly. "This is starting to sound like a competition."

"If you want to look at it that way then sure. Personally, I just want Lucina to be safe. But then again, is that not what we all want?"

Falcon thought about it for a little longer, weighing whatever options he had. Realistically, he was going to go in and rescue Lucina no matter what, so winning her heart in the process would more or less turn out to be the ultimate bonus prize.

He was totally fine with that.

"Okay 'wise guy,' I'll play along," said Falcon, standing up and firmly shaking hands with the mage. "We'll get the Dream Tap and go into Lucina's dream together. We'll save her, and then she can decide who she wants to be with. And hey, when it does end up being me, I hope we can still be friends with no hard feelings." He smirked. "May the best knight in shining armor win."

Robin couldn't help but mirror the racer's face, but his grin was for an entirely different reason. He was just happy they were back on the same side again.

"Good to have you back, Captain."


	25. He Who Cannot Be Trusted

It Came from Lucina's Head

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**Author's Note:** I've fully recovered from my cold/flu/hell and am ready to post the next chapter! The first 2,000 words or so of this chapter is kind of an extension of the last chapter, but I broke it off because I didn't want the chapters getting stupid long. That being said, this one's going to be approximately 4,500 words. Hope you guys enjoy!

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Chapter 25: He Who Cannot Be Trusted

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"Alright, let's do this thing," said Falcon before he got on the ground and unlocked Wario's door. All of the tumblers caved in with an audible "click" and the door began to creak open. "I can almost guarantee that Wario has another stash of Dream Tap somewhere in here. We should be able to get our hands on some and scram before anybody sees us."

Falcon pushed the door open, revealing a very dark and smelly room. There wasn't a lot of space to step because of all the junk lying around such a wrappers, plastic cups, bottles, clothes, and moldy food. Robin had to grab his nose in disgust upon peering into the room.

"I thought you said you and him were old friends?" he asked, following the taller Smasher into the godforsaken area.

"We are," replied Falcon as he tiptoed over the various obstacles. "That doesn't mean he's ever let me in his room before. Hold the door, I'm gonna get the light over here."

All of the main lights in Wario's room had burnt out a long time ago and were meant to be replaced at some point during the Brawl tournament. However, due to the unhealthy amount of garbage scattered throughout the floor and air, no Waddle Dee was brave enough to come in and replace the lights on their own. This resulted in Wario having to install his own stand-up lamp that he kept in the corner, which became the room's only source of light if the door to the hallway wasn't open. The balcony window was pretty much bolted shut after the fat man had been caught one day stringing hotdogs over the side in order to mess with the Duck Hunt Duo, and the glass on the door itself had been smeared beyond belief with sauces, crumbs, and garlic. Coupled with the fact that he never flushed the toilet, never used the shower (except for storing more garbage), and never picked up after himself, this place was starting to become a home to rodents and insects alike. Of course, not even those kinds of pests lasted long when a simple Wario Waft could suck the souls out of their bodies instantaneously.

When Falcon finally turned on the light, the rest of the room was revealed to them, and boy, it was not a pretty sight. The entire place was littered with fast food containers and utensils. Whatever furniture was in the room was more or less buried beneath magazines, glass bottles, or chip bags. The bed was a real sight for sore eyes, as one whole half of it was reserved for junk food and wrappings, while the other half was darker, damper, and appeared sag a little. The closet wasn't even reachable due to all of the stuff piled in front of it, but anyone would have guessed that some unholy monstrosity was somehow hidden behind it. The television set was also covered with greasy socks for some reason.

"How can anyone live here?" said Robin, putting his sleeve over his mouth and nose while shutting the door.

Falcon inhaled deeply, sticking his chest out with his hands on his hips. "Get a whiff of that stench! Now _this_ is what I call a man-cave!"

"Smells more like an abandoned slaughterhouse in the middle of summer..."

"Alright, let's get cracking." Falcon put his hands together and began rubbing them mischievously. "Who knows how much time we have before 'Fatso' shows up again."

Robin lifted his leg up, seeing that he just stepped on a plate of half-eaten lasagna. He sighed.

"This is going to take a while…"

The two friends went right to work, searching and digging through whatever articles and objects they could find. More often than not, they would end up discovering old food and sweaty clothes. Robin was wishing he had gloves like Captain Falcon, and he couldn't help but wonder how Marth would react if he saw the place seeing as how the Altean prince was known to be a neat freak.

From the mini fridge to the cabinets, there didn't seem to be any Dream Tap in sight, and by the time Robin had overturned his twelfth plastic plate of moldy tuna casserole, he was beginning to call it quits for this mission.

"At this rate we'll be here all day," muttered the mage as he hoisted a sticky pile of clothes from a table and onto a shelf. He nearly jumped in surprised when he found a few dead moths underneath.

"Not if we move fast," replied Falcon who was pulling drawers out and tossing stuff on the floor. It honestly didn't make the room look any messier. "Come on, can't you use your magic to move stuff?"

"I only specialize in destructive magic," said Robin, checking under a nearby rug that had a laundry basket filled with other random junk on top of it. "On the other hand, if you asked me to set this place on fire, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

"He ain't the cleanest guy around, that's for sure." Falcon began inspecting the bed and pillows for anything.

"Seriously, he calls himself a business owner? I'd hate to see what the protocols at Warioware Industries are like. I bet you he doesn't even have janitorial staff working for him."

"Who knows, who cares," replied Falcon, lifting up two pairs of underwear and shaking them before tossing them over his shoulders. A few more feet to the left and they would have landed right on Robin's head.

They continued their strenuous search for another fifteen minutes or so. Neither of them noticed their sense of smell adapting to the crappiness of the atmosphere, and soon Robin was able to see without having to constantly rub his eyes at the garlic powder in the air. Falcon was able to sweep over the whole place gracefully, which was both impressive and disgusting to the tactician, but given that he had a visor covering the upper half of his face, it was totally understandable.

At some point, the two had stopped to inspect the glass door only to wonder what the heck Wario did in order to get those stains on it.

"I bet you he just got really bored one day and just sat in front of this door wiping sauces all over it," commented Falcon.

"I'd believe anything at this point," replied his companion. "I still can't get over how unsanitary this room is. Whether it's been done already or not, I'm going to report this to Master Hand. This is unacceptable, especially when we live in such a well-kept mansion."

"Well, _you_ can break the bad news to Master Hand then," said Falcon. "_I_ was never here."

"I don't care what Wario thinks. I'll personally hire Luigi and see to it that every last crumb in this room gets sucked up and sent to the incinerator."

"What are you, his mother?"

Just then, the sound of a familiar voice could be heard muttering something from the other side of the front door. Falcon and Robin froze on the spot, staring in the direction of the sound before exchanging a nervous glance.

"Looks like he's home early, heheh," said Falcon. "It must have been a short breakfast this morning."

Robin immediately jumped to his feet. "Quick, hide!"

The two broke apart and scrambled to find a hiding spot among the garbage. Robin immediately dove under the bed, cursing under his breath as he rolled over various squishy and smelly materials. He was definitely going to have to throw these clothes in the wash. He didn't see where Falcon ran to, but thankfully the racer remembered to shut off the lamp, casting the entire room in complete darkness. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Robin could see the shadow of the room's owner walking in on the floor.

He held his breath.

Wario stepped in with narrowed eyes, glancing this way and that way at every crevice of his nest. He noticed the clothes that had been strewn about the place among his other junk.

"Hmm," he muttered suspiciously. "Someone's been in here…"

He shut the door behind him and made his way over to the lamp in the corner of the room. Robin could hear the man's footsteps pass right by him as he prayed for dear life that he wouldn't get caught. After kicking a few useless things to the side, Wario finally reached the light cord and pulled down, illuminating his beloved paradise yet again.

"Huh?" said the fat man out loud as he stared at the stand-up lamp. He noticed that the body of the lamp had been replaced with that of a muscular man in an F-Zero racing suit. The head of the man was hidden beneath the lampshade, but the rest of him was perfectly visible. The man had his hands on his hips and seemed to be striking some kind of victorious pose. Robin took a peak out from under the bed and almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"_That's his idea of a good hiding spot!?_" he thought. He closed his eyes after that, dreading the thought of what was going to happen next.

Oddly enough, Wario just ended up standing there and staring at the "lamp" for quite a long time, rubbing the underside of his chin with a gloved hand in utter confusion.

"Huh, that's weird," he said. "I thought I got rid of this thing a long time ago."

Apparently, Wario had previously been the owner of a human-shaped lamp at some point in his life, but sold it online a long time ago since it took up too much space. Seeing its grand return was almost haunting in a sense, but Wario shrugged it off figuring he forgot he never sold it, where in actuality he did and this lamp before him was really Captain Falcon in disguise. He shrugged his shoulders.

Wario made his way over to the front of the bed, causing Robin to squirm and crawl as far back into the far reaches of the dark cavern as he could. The next thing he knew, Wario had stuck a chubby hand under the bed and began feeling around for something.

"It must be here somewhere…" muttered Wario as he got down on all fours in an attempt to reach further beneath the bed.

Robin almost panicked, but he quickly got a hold of himself and began reaching behind him for whatever crap Wario was keeping down here. He immediately wrapped his hand around a Deku Nut and handed it to Wario, who pulled back and inspected the item.

"Nope," he muttered before tossing the object behind him and causing a small flashing explosion.

He reached under the bed again blindly. This time Robin handed him some curled up magazine he found. The magazine appeared to be an issue of Ninten Sports, depicting a rather flattering picture of Samus on the cover in a bikini. Wario's face went red for a second before he tossed the magazine to the side and kept searching.

The next few minutes were more or less repetitions of this where Wario would "fish" for an item and Robin would secretly hand him one in hopes that it was the one he was looking for so he would leave already. By the end of it, the mage had given him a defused Bob-Omb, a bag of Twizzlers, some pants, a Mr. Saturn, a carton of Chinese takeout, a left glove that was surprisingly clean, and a fairy in a bottle. All of these items were unfortunately not the thing that Wario was looking for, and he was about to give up all hope until he reached down into the bed one last time in desperation. Robin was able to move back a bit further thanks to all of the junk he removed, and promptly handed Wario the first thing he could get his hand on, which felt like another fairy bottle. When he handed him the glass item, Wario's eyes seemed to light up as he stood tall and shouted, "Aha! Here's the Dream Tap!"

"What!?" replied Robin, hitting his head on the bottom of the bed.

"Huh? Who said that?" muttered Wario, looking around.

"I did! Down here!"

Wario grabbed the edge of the bed and lifted it up high with a strong arm, revealing the white-haired mage underneath among other random crap. Robin immediately rolled out of the way and stood up, causing Wario to drop the bed back in its place.

"What the hell are you doing in my room!?" shouted the fat man in irritation.

"You had us all for fools," said Robin, glancing at the purple vial in Wario's hand. "You said that Master Hand got rid of all the Dream Tap, yet you had at least one sample hidden from us the entire time."

Wario hesitated for a moment, realizing what this whole fiasco was all about. "Of course I did," he replied nonchalantly. "What, you think I would just hand it over like it was nothing? This is some high quality stuff, and it's worth every penny if it means people are willing to pay for it!"

"Lucina's life is at stake right now. Without the Dream Tap, she has no hope of awakening from her sleep!"

"Well that's her problem then." Wario began picking his nose with his pinky finger. "I was never on her side to begin with anyway. You losers just happened to catch me in the right place at the right time."

Robin could feel his eye twitching at that last statement. It's not like he ever Wario to begin with, but hearing it upfront like this was just adding insult to injury.

"I demand you relinquish the Dream Tap to me at once!" threatened Robin as he pulled out his sword. Wario grimaced in response.

"Fat chance bucko," he replied. "This is the last sample in the mansion! You really think I'm going to give it to you?"

"If he won't take it then I will," came a voice from behind. "Yoink!" Captain Falcon swiftly snatched it out of Wario's hand. "Surprise!"

"You!" cried Wario in disbelief. "Give that back!" He tried jumping up to grab it from the racer's grasp, but Captain Falcon was too tall and was able to easily keep the vial out of reach from the chubby man.

"We need this more than you do, garlic-breath," said Falcon with a smirk.

"Not if I can help it!" Wario slammed Falcon in the stomach with his shoulder, forcing Falcon to throw the purple vial in Robin's direction. The mage jumped to the side and caught it easily.

"Falcon, we need to leave now!" he said as he began making a break for the door.

Wario quickly picked up a bowl of gravy and chucked it at the tactician, nailing him square in the back and causing him to stumble and toss the vial up in the air. Wario snatched it just in the nick of time, but was stopped when Falcon swiped it from him again. Falcon and Robin soon began playing a little game of "Keep Away" with the Dream Tap vial, tossing it back and forth across the room while poor Wario tried jumping and diving to catch his beloved potion.

"You guys aren't playing fair!" he whined as he fell flat on his face in a pile of dirty underwear.

"Coming from the guy who likes to fight dirty," muttered Robin as he tossed the vial over at Falcon who barely caught it near the glass door. Wario got up, a flaming vengeance burning in his eyes as he went full throttle and charged at Falcon with ramming speed.

"Robin! Go long!" shouted Falcon, chucking the Dream Tap just as Wario tackled him to the ground. The vial lobbed overhead in the direction of the door. Robin stepped and stumbled through the mess of the room, leaping up to catch the bottle one last time. Unfortunately, it barely fell out of his reach and continued sailing towards the front door, a barricade that would undoubtedly shatter the item upon impact.

"No!" he cried.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the Dream Tap vial landed securely in the palm of a Smasher who had been standing out in the hall this whole time. Ganondorf revealed a sinister grin on his face as he eyed the bottle in his hand, holding it up to the light and inspecting it from different angles.

"Ah, the last of the Dream Tap," said the Gerudo King slyly, glaring at Robin from the corner of his eye. "All mine at last."

He took a few steps back as Robin, Falcon, and Wario all scrambled out of the room and in to the hallway. Needless to say, they all reeked of something ungodly, causing Ganondorf to wince slightly. Robin remained determined however, and held his sword up towards Ganondorf without any sign of fear, while Falcon and Wario stood to the side jabbing and kicking at each other.

"Give it here, Ganondorf," demanded the mage. Unfortunately, Robin hadn't had much experience speaking with the Lord of Evil himself, and wasn't aware of how dangerous he actually was.

Ganondorf, surprisingly, was rather amused by the tactician's threats.

"Well, that's not a very friendly way of saying good morning, now is it?" replied Ganondorf calmly with an evil smirk. "Is that how all Ylisseans greet their acquaintances?"

"We don't need to say good morning to you!" said Falcon as he pushed Wario off of him. "You practically hate everyone in the mansion!"

"How right you are…" mumbled the dark warrior as he grabbed the blade of Robin's sword and clenched it with his own fist. Robin tried to pull away from the Gerudo King, but his weapon seemed to be locked in place. It astounded him how anyone could grasp the wrong end of a sword without feeling the slightest bit of pain. Even with the electricity surging through the enchanted Levin Sword, Ganondorf did not flinch, and he appeared to be absorbing the magic of the weapon within his own arm. "Let me take this opportunity to 'educate' one of our newest members of the family." He pulled Robin in towards him, staring down the mage with a menacing glare that would make the bravest of men quiver in their boots. Robin did his best to hold his ground, but felt himself faltering as his heartbeat began to increase. "I strive to make myself a shadow here in the mansion. No one disturbs me, and in return, I force myself to not wring out everyone's necks and hang their carcasses on the wall. If you cross me again, the next sword you see will be the one protruding from your chest when you turn around. Do I make myself clear?"

Robin gritted his teeth, unsure of what to say. He hadn't expected Ganondorf to be so intimidating, and he almost wished that he had taken back what he said at this point. He took a deep breath as the dark warrior loosened his grasp on the blade before sheathing it entirely.

"There is no need to be so hostile," replied Robin calmly. "All I ask is that you give me the Dream Tap."

"Ah, yes, the Dream Tap," said Ganondorf as he held the vial up in plain sight. "Your need for such a substance wouldn't by any chance have anything to do with Lucina now, would it?"

Falcon shuffled over to Robin's side, whispering into his ear, "Damn, he's good…"

"As a matter of fact it does," said the tactician, ignoring Falcon's comment. "She's fallen into a coma as of last night. The Dream Tap is our only hope of bringing her back at this point."

He was praying that his words would make the Gerudo King sympathetic towards his situation, but if anything, it only made Ganondorf care even less.

"That's a shame," he said as he slid the vial into a small pouch on his belt. "And here I thought you were in need of it for something… urgent."

"If you don't give us the Dream Tap, she could die!" spat Robin. He didn't want to have to resort to that, but he was starting to run out of options fast.

"I've heard that sob story before," replied Ganondorf as he produced a large sack of gold from behind him. "And I'm afraid I just don't have the patience for it. Thank you for all the trouble, Wario." He promptly tossed the bag of loot into the arms of the fat man who began inspecting its contents with a greedy grin on his face.

"Wahaha! Yes!" he cheered. "It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Ganondorf!"

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Falcon dramatically. "You mean to tell me you and him were in on this the whole time!?"

"When I heard that Master Hand had removed all traces of the substance after your foolish misuse of it, I knew I had to obtain a sample somehow," replied Ganondorf calmly. "What better way to search for something than to go straight to the source?"

"But why?" asked Robin in disbelief. "How does having the Dream Tap benefit you in any way?"

"This drug allows the user to venture into the subconscious of the slumbering. The possibilities are limitless." He narrowed his eyes at the other Smashers. "Let me assure you that I _will_ find a use for it. There's no point in having to explain it all to you simple-minded fools."

"You know, you're really starting to piss me off," said Falcon, raising a fist. "Let's go! You and me! Right here! We'll settle this like men and find out who _really_ deserves to keep the Dream Tap!"

The Gerudo King laughed in the racer's face, completely unfazed by his comment. "Surely you jest. I have no reason to fight either of you, let alone while the tournament is still on suspension. If it will make you feel better, I'll keep the girl in my thoughts. I'm sure she'll overcome whatever it is fate has in store for her." With that, he briskly turned and began heading for the stairs, leaving the other Smashers in the wake of his billowing cape. This of course only made Falcon's rage meter increase tenfold, and he soon found himself sprinting after the dark warrior, preparing to deliver a fully charged Raptor Boost.

"Don't turn your back on me! Come here and fight!" he shouted, his fists glowing with flames.

"Falcon, wait!" cried Robin.

But it was too late. It seemed that Ganondorf had anticipated some kind of assault, because he swiftly turned around and elbow-checked the racer in the stomach. Falcon had the wind knocked out of him almost in an instant, and the next thing he knew he was sailing through the air before forcefully landing on his back. Ganondorf gave an evil grin before glaring at Robin and continuing on his way out of the hall.

Robin quickly ran to Falcon's side, helping him back onto his feet.

"That was reckless of you," he muttered. Falcon winced at his comment, but it was more directed at the obvious pain in his torso.

"That's how I roll," he replied with a cough. "It's not right for him to just walk out on us like that."

"I know it's not." He paused for a moment. Truly, there wasn't anything he wanted more in the world right now than to get that vial away from Ganondorf. But for some reason, when he was standing there in the quaking presence of the Gerudo King, he couldn't bring himself to even move. Was he really that scared of him? Regardless, he knew for a fact that Ganondorf was known to be the most powerful villain in the mansion, thus crossing blades with him wouldn't be the best idea in any situation. He contemplated whether they were going to have to resort to going stealth mode again just like they had done for Wario. Speaking of which…

"Where the heck did Wario run off to anyway?" muttered Falcon as he regained his footing.

Robin looked around, noticing that they were the only Smashers standing in the hall. Apparently, Wario had left the conversation soon after he got his pay, and promptly disappeared into his room either to count the cash or to clean up. It was probably the former.

"It doesn't matter," said Robin. "Falcon, we need to get that Dream Tap back somehow. It's the only way we'll be able to save Lucina."

"Thanks for the newsflash genius," replied the racer, holding himself where he had been struck. "What's next on today's agenda, local scientists discover that cows go 'Moo?'"

"You're not helping here."

"Okay fine, so Ganondorf has the Dream Tap now. What's plan B?"

"Plan B…" muttered Robin. Not this question again. He was almost certain that their plan to infiltrate Wario's domain and steal the Dream Tap was going to work. He never would have expected running into any of the other villains today though. Normally those kind of characters kept to themselves. Oddly enough, this was the first time he had seen Ganondorf cooperating with anybody in the mansion. It made him wonder if any of the other villains were in on his little scheme as well…

Just then, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs. The incoming fighter was also calling people's names, and by the tone of voice, it sounded very urgent. The two Smashers glanced down the hall to see Fox McCloud running towards them at incredible speed. He wouldn't normally run this fast unless he was in a scheduled tournament match.

"Robin! Captain Falcon!" he called as he made his way to their position.

"Hey there Fox," said Falcon, still rubbing the spot where he had been hit. He did his best to stand tall and make it look like it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did.

"Ah, Fox," replied Robin. "I was beginning to wonder what happened. Did you find Master Hand?"

The short space pilot appeared to be out of breath as he stood there for a few seconds with his hands on his knees. It was like he just finished running a marathon!

"Not quite," replied Fox between breaths. He paused for a short moment, sniffing the air, before pinching his nose in disgust. "Aw man, _what_ is that smell?"

The two Smashers smiled sheepishly at the other character.

"Eh, it's a long story," replied Falcon nonchalantly.

"Anyway Fox, you were saying?" said Robin with concern.

"Right," replied Fox, getting back on track. "There's no time to explain. You better come take a look at this."

Robin and Falcon exchanged a quick glance with each other.

"What do you mean?" asked the tactician. "Fox, what's wrong with Master Hand?"

He looked up at them from the corner of his eye. "You'll have to see for yourselves. Come quickly."

He dashed off in the direction that he appeared from. Both of the other Smashers hesitated for a few moments, wondering what the heck was going on. They didn't say anything to each other, but Falcon gave Robin a sharp nod. Eventually, the two ran off after the furry fighter, flying up the stairs and gliding down the monstrous corridors of the third floor.

They were headed for Master Hand's office.


	26. They Came

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 26: They Came

* * *

By the time the trio had reached their destination, a small group of Smashers had already gathered outside of Master Hand's office. Mario was on one knee in front of the door using a stethoscope to listen for sounds on the other side while Princess Peach peered curiously over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Sonic and Shulk appeared to be in the middle of a heated discussion, but broke apart when they noticed Robin and Captain Falcon on the scene.

"What's going on here?" asked Robin seriously as he came to a halt in front of the large double doors. Falcon stood a few feet back with a confused look on his face while Fox approached the doors and began to examine them.

"Shh. Listen," he replied. Everyone in the hallway fell silent. A low buzzing sound could be heard emanating through the wooden finish of the doors. It was faint, but it seemed to rise and decrease in volume sporadically. There was no deducible pattern and it certainly wasn't coming from any machine they knew of.

"We can't get the doors open," said Mario, getting to his feet. "Master Hand must have locked it."

"I'm telling you, just let me bust through it!" replied Sonic with his hands on his hips. "We've wasted enough time as it is!"

"How long have you all been standing out here?" asked Robin.

"About ten minutes or so," replied Shulk. "I could hear the noise coming from down the hall, but no one else seems to know what's causing it."

"It's definitely not normal," commented Peach. "Maybe we should call the others?"

"Nah, I'm with Sonic," said Falcon as he made a motion like he was rolling up a sleeve. "I say we punch this thing down and find out what the hell that sound is coming from."

Robin shook his head at the racer's suggestion; brute force was usually Falcon's go-to tactic. He, on the other hand, was much more comfortable gathering all the facts beforehand and devising a follow-up plan right after. Falcon had always been known to be more of a "punch first, ask questions later" kind of guy.

"Did Master Hand say he had any plans for the day?" asked Robin.

"That's what's strange," replied Shulk over the sound of the buzzing. "No one's seen him around since yesterday."

It was not unheard of for Master Hand to lock himself in his office so that he could tend to whatever duties he had regarding the tournament in peace. Normally these types of duties revolved around sorting out paper work, organizing replay data, and managing which stages would be available for play during the week. The fact that the tournament was still on suspension, however, made the Smashers all the more curious as to what he could possibly be doing in there. Unless he had suddenly taken up an interest in bee farming (highly unlikely), then there really was no explanation for all the commotion.

Eventually, Fox took a few steps away from the door and pulled out his communicator.

"Falco, come in," he said in that serious tone of his. They could always depend on Fox to take the leader role seeing as how he was the captain of his own squadron. After a few seconds, the Brooklyn accent of a familiar friend came through from the other end.

"I read ya Fox," replied Falco. "What's goin' on? You sound pissed. Over."

"There's no time to explain. Find Lucario and tell him to come to Master Hand's office as soon as he can."

An audible sigh could be heard coming from the communicator, followed by a, "Roger that. Over and out." Fox pocketed his device.

"Why Lucario?" asked Robin curiously.

"His aura powers should be able to tell us what's on the other side of this door."

"I could tell you right now if you give me about a second to spin dash it," said Sonic with a wink.

"Forget it Sonic."

Falcon crossed his arms in irritation. He didn't want to be stuck waiting around here for something to happen. In all honesty, he was more concerned with where Ganondorf had run off to since the Dream Tap vial was his number one priority right now. If Master Hand was feeling a little under the weather, it really wasn't any of his business. As curious as he was to figuring out what was going on in his office, his curiosity didn't outweigh his determination to pay back the Lord of Evil for that pot-shot earlier.

"So we're just going to wait here then?" asked Peach, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Looks like it," replied Robin. "Unless Falcon wants to take a crack at the lock."

Falcon raised his head up at the sound of his name, but he wasn't really paying attention to the immediate conversation.

"What do I look like, Solid Snake?" was all he said in response. Apparently, there weren't a lot of Smashers in the mansion who knew about his lock-picking skills. Robin was able to catch on right away that he was trying to keep that particular trait about himself under the radar.

"Just give me a chance you guys!" persisted Sonic.

"If we were going to have someone break down the door, we would just ask Captain Falcon," replied Mario.

"I second that," chimed Shulk. "There's nothing that can stand against a Falcon Punch!"

"Well, if you put it that way…" said Falcon as he snobbishly dusted off his undusted shoulder plating, "I guess it would be rude of me to let down the adoring fans." His attitude had done a complete one-eighty, and now all of a sudden he was ready to bust down Master Hand's door. Little did the others know that this was secretly something he had put down on his bucket list back when he first joined the Smash Bros. in the late '90's. The F-Zero racer waltzed up to the door and began feeling around for the perfect spot to lay a hit.

"Wait, you're not serious are you?" said Robin all of a sudden. "Lucario is on his way any moment."

Falcon pretended he didn't hear the mage's comment due to the loudness of the buzzing. Realistically, he wouldn't have been lying if he told him this either. Up against the front of the doors, the buzzing was unnaturally loud, and the vibrations themselves made it seem like Falcon's entire head was ringing beneath the helmet.

"He's right, Falcon," said Fox. "It's best to hold off for now, at least until we know what we're up against."

"Pfft," spat the racer as he turned to face his companions. "You make it sound like Tabuu's hiding in there or something. Please, if it was really something that dangerous, it would've tried breaking down the doors by now."

As if on cue, the sound of something large and blunt slammed against the other side of the doors, causing all of the Smashers to flinch and Falcon to let out a tiny squeal. The buzzing continued to grow louder as another object was slammed against the doors, this time almost bursting them open like a shopping mall on Black Friday. Falcon, Fox, and Mario quickly jumped away from the office as the other Smasher's braced themselves.

"Something's in there," said Mario, preparing to launch a flurry of fireballs.

Shulk activated his Monado in response. "Could it be Master Hand?"

"Does that sound like Master Hand to you!?" replied Falcon in distress.

The banging continued, each and every hit getting louder by the second. As freaky as it was, the group of friends held their ground, and were ready to strike without a moment's delay.

"Get ready everyone," said Fox as he pulled out his blaster. The slamming became consistent, each consecutive blow coming out every few seconds. Peach bit her lip out of habit. And just when they thought the double doors were about to collapse…

The banging stopped.

Not only that, but the buzzing had also ceased. For some strange reason, the hallway had suddenly fallen silent again.

"Well that was a letdown," muttered Sonic as he shrugged his shoulders. Unlike the others, he was actually hoping something would pop out of the room and attack them. It's been a few days since he's seen any action around the mansion anyway.

"Let's round up the others," said Fox as he holstered his weapon. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Shulk was suddenly struck with another vision, his eye color changing hue to match that of the Monado's light. He stood there in a frozen state for a few seconds like a zombie, and Peach was actually the first one to notice.

"Are you alright, Shulk?" she asked.

"I've seen this before," replied Robin. "He's having another vision of the future."

The images passing through Shulk's head came fast and blurry, but everything was easily audible. There were voices, a lot of yelling, and also some screaming at some points. It really wasn't that much information, but it was enough to shake him back into reality just as the buzzing on the other side of the doors began to pick up again. Everyone's eyes turned to face the source of the unpleasant noise, but little did they know that this scene was exactly what the Monado was trying to warn them about, albeit a few seconds too late.

"Everybody down!"

Suddenly, the doors to Master Hand's office burst open with a force that would easily send Wario sailing through the skies. Thankfully, the Smashers were able to react just in time as they all hit the deck and covered themselves from whatever was escaping from the room. A cloud of black particles raced through the air at incredible speed like a swarm of locusts right over their heads. The buzzing was almost unbearable at this point as wave after wave of dark forms soared out of the room, zooming through the air as if they were being carried by wind. Robin could feel his robe fluttering up from the force that these creatures brought with them and he didn't dare to raise his head until the buzzing finally ceased.

As the last of the particles left the premises, the Smashers began standing up one by one, looking back and forth down the hall in confusion.

"What the hell were those things!?" cried Falcon, his heart racing a million miles a minute.

"I-I don't know," replied Robin. "It all happened so fast, I-"

"Robin, your arm!" screamed Peach.

The tactician looked down to see that some of the black particles had latched onto his robe sleeve, however, this wasn't just some dandelion fuzz. No, these things were like leeches, and they made his entire forearm look completely black. Without warning, the creatures began sinking through the woven material of his clothes and sticking to his skin below. What followed this could be compared to that feeling one gets in their legs when they sit cross-legged for too long, only multiply the pain tenfold and reduce any feeling after that to nothing but pure numbness.

"Argh, get these things off me!" cried Robin as he tried raking the leeches off with his fingernails. He was only able to spare a quick glance, but he noticed that some of the others were having the same problem, namely Fox who appeared to have a case of black tail, and Sonic who had a few bugs on his back spines.

"I can't feel my tail!" exclaimed Fox, attempting to shake the bugs off his body. Shulk quickly flew to his aid and tried pulling the creatures off with his bare hands, but they only ended up getting stuck on to him like bubble gum. And man, once these things grabbed on, boy did they bite hard.

"What on Bionis are they!?" he shouted, scratching and clawing at his skin.

Thankfully, their prayers were answered when Mario busted out his F.L.U.D.D. and hosed them all down. The black bugs washed off with ease, and once they landed on the floor they appeared to die like harmless little insects.

"They seem to attack the nervous system," said Mario as he picked up a specimen and examined it up close. "But where did they come from?"

"More importantly, where the hell is Master Hand?" The other Smashers looked up to see Falcon standing in Master Hand's open office. The grand room was completely empty, from the areas by the long bookshelves to the large desk at the far end by the doubly large window. There were no traces of the large floating hand or his brother anywhere, nor any signs of life that would hint at someone being in there recently.

"Fox! Come in!" came Falco's voice from the communicator. Fox immediately pulled it out upon hearing the sound of his comrade.

"I read you," he replied.

"We're under attack!" shouted the bird pilot as a series of blasts and other Smashers shouting came from the other end. They could feel the vibrations in their feet; a fight had broken out somewhere on the second or first floor. "The whole mansion is! Get your ass to the foyer now!"

"Roger, on my way!" Fox pocketed the device before dashing off down the hall. "Sonic, head to the east side and round up as many survivors as you can! Everyone else, with me!"

"You got it!" replied the hedgehog as he disappeared in a near instant, becoming nothing more than a blue blur racing past Fox and down the northern corridor. The next thing anyone knew, Mario, Peach, and Shulk began tailing their furry friend while Falcon and Robin remained behind, hesitating yet again.

"Um… did he just say survivors?" asked Falcon almost in denial.

The mansion began to rumble as another explosion came out from somewhere below them, causing both fighters to stumble. Robin regained his balance, accidentally stepping on a few of those dead bugs in the process.

"They came from Master Hand's office," he muttered. "Surely… he wasn't the one who set them loose upon us?"

"There's no time to think about that! Come on, we gotta catch up with the others!"

Falcon sped off after his friends, followed by Robin who only took three steps before coming to a halt.

"Wait! What about Lucina?"

Falcon stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her name and began backpedaling towards the tactician and propelling past him in the opposite direction.

"Great idea! You go join the others and I'll save Lucina!" he said casually as he passed by.

"That's not what I- Hey!" cried Robin, but by the time he was able to get up to full speed, Falcon had already disappeared around the next bend. He should have known better than the go foot to foot against one of the faster fighters in the Super Smash Bros. Maybe he would have been better off if he didn't say anything in the first place? Realistically, Falcon really was the better choice at rescuing Lucina seeing as how he was both physically faster and stronger than Robin. With any luck, he would be able to meet up again with the F-Zero racer later on, but anything was better than standing here in the middle of the hall wondering what to do. Robin pushed himself in the direction of the next stairwell and made his way down to the first floor.

* * *

"Dangit Kirbeh! Will you stop runnin' around and made yourself useful for once!?"

A full-fledged war had broken out in the mansion's foyer a few minutes after the swarm of bugs had been unleashed from Master Hand's office. Any Smashers who had been caught in the halls found themselves retreating into this grand room, seeing as how it was one of the biggest areas inside the mansion, complete with two sets of rounding staircases leading up to the second floor. The second floor of the foyer itself also had a small balcony on the eastern and western ends that overlooked the central part of the main floor. Instead of brilliant wood finishes on the rails and portraits displaying various Smashers on the walls, the room was now covered with a fog of black creatures. They buzzed and swarmed all over the place, grouping together and taking a solid form in order to combat the powerful fighters of the Super Smash Bros. Thankfully, the Smashers were more than prepared for this type of situation, and most of them were willing to admit they were glad to hit something for once due to the recent suspension of the tournament.

On the main floor, King Dedede was flailing his hammer all over the place, smacking the mass of bugs that buzzed anywhere close in his vicinity. Meanwhile, Kirby was running for his life, a swarm of the buggers chasing after him like bees to honey. Some other Smashers were also in the area, such as Falco, Marth, Ike, Meta Knight, Pikachu, Palutena, and Donkey Kong, who were all having their fair share of trouble dealing with these pests. Overhead, Pit, Dark Pit, and Charizard had taken to the air and began firing arrows and Flamethrowers at the intruders.

"Where did they come from!?" shouted Palutena over the buzzing, taking out a group of creatures with her Autoreticle.

"I'm not sure," replied Marth, who was standing by her side and fending off an assault with his Falchion. "Just don't get bit!"

It was easier said than done however, especially for the characters who weren't wearing clothes such as DK and Pikachu, for one wrong move and they found themselves being swarmed by the things. And once Donkey Kong's arms became pinned down by the shadowy masses, there really was no hope for him to survive.

"Dammit Fox!" cried Falco as he leaped over a charging mass of the swarm, only to be met with another one in midair. He performed an air-dodge just in time before landing on the rail, firing laser after laser from his blaster. "Where the hell is he!?"

"Get outta my way you puffball!" hollered Dedede, slamming a bypassing Kirby with his hammer. Kirby went sailing through the air, all the while crying "Poyooo!" before landing on top of a low-flying Charizard. The mighty beast roared with anger as it continued to circle the large room and blow down anything in its path. Fortunately for the Smashers, Charizards were known to be pretty territorial creatures, so being overwhelmed by an army of micro invaders gave the Fire Pokémon all the more reason to go all-out.

Meanwhile, Pikachu was charging Thunders and Thunderbolts, zapping any creature coming too close in its path, while Ike was nearby having his own trouble seeing as how these monsters moved way too fast for his sword swings to keep up.

"We may have to retreat!" he exclaimed, countering a wave of enemies as they charged into him, dispersing them back into the air.

"And do what? Go further into the mansion so they can corner us?" replied Falco sarcastically. He back-flipped off the railing and began firing lasers down below at the swarms, picking off groups of them one by one. He landed gracefully behind the swordsman, delivering a swift kick to another pack of foes. "We hold this position until backup arrives!"

Pit came diving towards the ground, a trail of bugs gaining on him fast. He twisted and turned in any direction he could, trying to get the creatures off his back, but to no avail. "Lady Palutena! A little help please!" he shrieked, zooming towards the Goddess of Light as fast as his wings could carry him. Palutena just chuckled, before firing a burst of light upwards, blasting the creatures just as they flew overhead. "Thank you!"

"Any time, Pit," she replied casually before gliding to DK's side to help fend off the onslaught.

"Physical attacks don't seem to work on them!" shouted Marth, narrowly ducking to avoid another strike from the bugs.

"Oh yeah?" replied Dedede. "Then what do you call THIS!?" He slammed his massive mallet down on top of a nearby group of bugs, crushing them instantly. "Ha! That takes care of that!" Little did he realize, however, that most of them were able to mold into the ground and then rise back into the air again. His mouth nearly hit the floor, but he didn't have any time to react when the swarm jumped on his face and the poor penguin began running around shouting, "Get these things offa me!"

Meta Knight appeared in an instant, slicing and dicing at the creatures that had latched onto King Dedede. What the Star Warrior lacked in strength he made up for in speed and precision, and was able to easily slash every single particle off of the king without so much as leaving a scratch on his noble mug. Dedede began panting and sweating with relief, muttering a "Thanks Meta Knight…" before almost collapsing. Meta Knight just sighed before turning around to assist the other Smashers.

The number of creatures were soon starting to build up, and despite the Smashers' efforts, it wasn't stopping the bugs from breaking in through the mansion windows, walls, and other parts of the room. With only a handful of them here to defend, it seemed that they were getting overwhelmed pretty fast.

Just then, the doors to the dining room burst open, and Olimar came stampeding through with an army of Pikmin. Lucario, Samus, Little Mac, Pac-Man, and Ness were also accompanying them.

"Sorry we're late!" exclaimed Olimar. "We were a little tied up!"

"Just shut-up and start fighting!" shouted Falco who was being chased by another wave of monsters.

The Pikmin immediately leapt into battle, the little warriors throwing themselves onto the bugs and bashing their heads into them like there was no tomorrow. There must have been about a hundred of them, which really wasn't that many compared to the thousands of shadow bugs, but any help was better than nothing. The other Smashers jumped into the fray as well, and before anyone knew it, Aura Spheres, plasma beams, and 2D fruit were hurling all over the place.

"Where did they come from?" asked Ness, blasting an area of pests with PK Flash, while Samus covered his back with some freeze beams.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Ike who swiftly joined his side thanks to a well-timed Quick Draw. "There's no way they should have been able to get past the barrier."

Little Mac began rapidly jabbing the creatures on site while Pac-Man was slamming bugs left and right with pixelated ghosts. Ness' PK Fires were proving to be very effective just as Charizard's flames were, proving that perhaps these creatures were weak against elemental attacks.

"Watch your head!" shouted Dark Pit as a low-flying arrow came zooming past Marth, skimming the top of his tiara and slicing through a group of bugs above him.

"Thanks!" replied the prince, but Dark Pit just shrugged his shoulders muttering a, "Yeah, whatever," in response.

With the joint efforts of the Pikmin and the new Smashers in the area, things were starting to look good, but for some reason the swarm's numbers just wouldn't diminish. For every bug that was destroyed, two new ones would take its place as more and more creatures began pouring into the room from the upper levels. Kirby had fallen off of Charizard by this time and landed on Dedede's head, who returned the favor with another hammer swing. DK was starting to get overwhelmed by the monsters as they latched onto him again, but was able to shake himself out of it thanks to his signature ground pound.

"Just suck them up already you numbskull!" cried Dedede as he booted Kirby into the center of the room.

"Poyo!" replied the pink puffball as he got on his toes and began sucking up the swarm of bugs. Wave after wave they began disappearing into the abyss that was Kirby's stomach, but he could only maintain this stance for a few seconds. Eventually, he ran out of breath, but he continued pushing himself as more and more bugs became sucked up by his trademark ability.

"Stop!" shouted Meta Knight from the air. "Don't suck them up!"

But of course it was too late. Kirby had sucked up way too many of the creatures and before anyone knew it, he had transformed into one of them, his body turning from a shining pink to a sickly black. He actually kind of looked like the form he took whenever he sucked up Mr. Game and Watch during the tournament matches, only instead of white eyes, his eyes were now completely black, making it look like he didn't have a face at all.

King Dedede watched in horror as the small faceless character he once knew as Kirby slowly turn towards him with a menacing glare.

"H-Hey easy there Kirby!" said the king in his defense. "I didn't know that those things were gonna do that to you!"

Kirby ignored the king's pleas, and the next thing anyone knew, the puffball had latched himself onto Dedede's face and began chomping and biting at him like some sort of zombie. The poor king resumed his running around aimlessly like a chicken with its head cut off while Meta Knight slapped himself in disappointment.

Fox, Mario, Peach, Shulk, and Robin came in through the eastern doors on the second floor, but all came to a halt as they witnessed the epic battle going on around them. Jigglypuff was also with them as they had somehow managed to find her on their way to the foyer. She had been found sleeping in the middle of the hall for some reason, and it was a surprise to anyone why she hadn't been attacked by the bugs in the first place.

"There's no end to them," said Shulk, pulling out his Monado.

"About time you showed up, Fox!" shouted Falco from the main floor. The bird man quickly leaped up to the second floor balcony with ease, punching the space pilot in the shoulder.

"Hey, watch it!" replied Fox. "We got here as fast as we could!"

"I thought something happened to you," muttered Falco below his breath. "Come on, we got some bugs to squash!"

"Let's-a go!" exclaimed Mario as he jumped from the balcony, slam-dunking a swarm of shadows in midair. Shulk also followed suit, leaping towards the ground while shouting, "Back Slash!" along with Fox and Falco who grinded down the rails guns blazing. Just as Peach was about to climb over the railing and float down to the main floor, she turned to Robin whose only response was, "I'll… just take the stairs."

Soon enough, the Smashers were back to fending off the hordes together again. Dedede had managed to pry Kirby off of his face, but the poor puffball seemed to be out of energy, and ended up just lying on the ground out of exhaustion. Pac-Man had set up his fire hydrant, which Mario used to fuel his F.L.U.D.D., spraying down any Smashers who found themselves getting too close to the parasites. Robin had joined by Marth's side in the battle, while Lucario had entered berserk mode and was dashing through the battlefield Force Palming and Extremespeeding anything that got in his way. The Pikmin army had been reduced to nothing, forcing Dedede to call on the Waddle Dees, but when he whistled for them to come, the only one who showed up was Waddle Doo who said, "The Waddle Dees are all hiding in a broom closet!" Samus' power suit was proving to be very effective armor against the bugs, while other characters such as Little Mac and Olimar weren't getting so lucky. Peach was able to get a free ride from Charizard as the two began parading around the room and blasting the bugs with fire, while she whacked any pests that got too close with her trusty parasol.

"Do these look familiar to you?" said Marth, performing a perfect Dancing Blade through a patch of the swarm.

"Are they supposed to?" replied Robin who sent an ArcThunder surging through the air, striking a mass of creatures that had snuck up on Ike.

"The Shadow Bugs," said the swordsman. "They're like the Shadow Bugs from the Subspace Emissary."

Robin recognized the name, and it took him a few seconds to realize what Marth was getting at. He had found the article on these creatures somewhere in one of the archives, back when he was trying to determine the cause of Lucina's horrifying nightmares. These "Shadow Bugs" looked a lot different from the ones in the book, however. For one thing, they were completely black as opposed to having a dark glowing aura about them, not to mention the fact that these bugs had the power to shut down a living organism's bodily functions at the mere touch.

"You don't suppose Master Hand is the one behind all this?"

The two friends covered themselves as a burst of flame came blasting through the area in front of them, reducing a large group of bugs to nothing but ashes. Robin looked up to see Princess Peach giving a wave from on top of Charizard's back.

"I'm not sure what to think anymore," replied Marth. "But if we're going to have any hope of surviving this, we're going to need to come up with a plan fast. We can't hold them off all day."

Robin glanced around the room, and he couldn't agree more with his comrade. The Smashers were beginning to show signs of struggle, having to fight an endless wave of enemies. It kind of reminded him of the Muli-Man Brawls, only instead of simulated Wire-frames or Mii Fighters, they were now up against some unknown force of darkness. Kirby was the first one to go down, but it didn't take long for DK to finally collapse beneath the mass of blackness that had covered him head to toe. Olimar, having lost all of his Pikmin, soon followed suit, along with Little Mac, Jigglypuff, and Pac-Man. Without the fire hydrant, Mario had run out of water, and getting the bugs off of his friends was now a near impossible feat. It didn't help with Dedede screaming "Every man for himself!" when he saw Falco get overwhelmed by a group of monsters that had flanked him.

The Smashers were now becoming too preoccupied dealing with their own battles to help one another and were forced to stay close together in groups.

"This is bad," said Shulk as he dodged a blow from a swarm of bugs, summersaulting back in to an upright position next to the Fire Emblem cast and Palutena. Fortunately, Pit and Dark Pit were still airborne and doing their best to secure the second floor. Meta Knight instantly appeared next to Ike using his Dimensional Cape.

"It may be in our best interest to fall back," he said calmly.

"What about the others?" replied Ike as he looked far to see Samus, Mario, and a few others struggling to keep the swarms off of them.

"If we stay here any longer, we are bound to die." The Star Warrior wrapped himself in his cape again, vanishing and then reappearing by Pikachu's side, slashing through another mass of shadow creatures.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," chimed Palutena as she blew away another wave of foes with a beam of light. "Unless you boys have another plan in mind?"

"I've got one." The sound of a familiar voice caused all of the Smashers to turn towards the front doors where Ganondorf was standing. He had his arms crossed and that sinister grin on his face again. Despite the hectic battles taking place all over the room, the Gerudo King seemed to be rather unfazed by the whole situation, and most of the Smashers who were fighting were too busy to even notice him standing there. Robin's eyes immediately fell to the pouch hanging by the Gerudo's waist. "Let us stand together and take back that which rightfully belongs to us. After all, is that not what Master Hand would have wanted all along?"

His words seemed to strike the Smashers like lightning. What exactly was he implying by that last sentence?

"All along?" replied Marth. "Hold on. You don't mean-"

Ganondorf nodded. It was exactly what Robin had feared this whole time, or at least what his first thought was when Fox had run into him earlier in the morning. It was also the perfect explanation as to why they couldn't find the giant disembodied hand in the first place. If he ever doubted it before, he sure as hell believed it now, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to completely trust Ganondorf.

After all, he was the one man who had Lucina's life wrapped tightly around his fingers.

"Master Hand is dead."


	27. Whose Side Are You On?

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** I thank the reviewers as much as I can, but this time I'd like to give a special thanks to all of you who favorited/followed this story. It really means a lot to me that a lot of you are holding on to this crazy roller coaster ride despite how long it is getting.

* * *

Chapter 27: Whose Side Are You On?

* * *

While most of the Smashers were getting overrun by the mysterious swarming creatures from Master Hand's office, Captain Falcon was dashing down the second floor of the mansion's corridors with only one destination in mind: Lucina's room. He had to cut a few corners and find another way around since his initial path was blocked when he stumbled upon a hallway that was crawling with bugs. Unfortunately, the creatures had noticed him as soon as he laid eyes upon them, and the next thing he knew, he was running like a madman from one area of the mansion to the next shouting at the top of his lungs while a wave of black ocean came crashing after him.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN!"

Despite how fast as he was, the creatures were gaining on him, and he could have sworn he felt a few of them brush up against the bottom of his foot as he blazed past the living room and other similar lounge areas. He could feel his heart burning and his fists pumping with fear as he rounded another corner only to be met with more of the bloody things. He was forced to take a detour down a small hall that intersected with the main ones, while the endless horde of black fog swept after him like a flood.

The rescue mission was already off to a great start.

He anticipated making another hard right a few yards ahead, but almost lost his balance when he felt someone grab a hold of him and pull him into an alcove in the hall. The stranger placed a firm hand over his mouth to keep him from shrieking, and after a few seconds of scrambling, Falcon noticed the wave of enemies blow past him obliviously. The wave of black Swarm continued for quite some time before it finally dissipated down another corridor, the horrid buzzing noise finally lifting from his swollen ear drums.

"You didn't need to do that," spat Falcon as he removed the stranger's hand from his face. "I had everything under control."

"Apparently not," replied a raspy feminine voice. Sheik stepped out from the shadows clad in her typical Sheikah attire, the Eye of Truth on her chest staring mysteriously at the other Smasher. "I almost mistook you for one of the princesses with that shrill scream of yours."

Falcon was taken aback by her comment, and he didn't do a very good job at being inconspicuous about it.

"W-Well you're one to talk!" retorted the F-Zero racer. "You've been officially confirmed to be a girl for like what, half a year now?"

"That is no fault of mine."

Sheik. What was there to say about her? She was a mysterious woman who rarely ever showed her face, let alone without the cowl and bandages. Anyone who knew of her existence never saw her around the mansion and were only given the opportunity if they just so happened to be matched up against her in the tournament. Better known as Zelda's alter ego, Sheik was cunning, persistent, and a bit of a tease. In actuality, she was everything that Zelda wasn't, but most of the newcomers didn't even know the two were related anyway.

Incidentally, if Sheik was making herself known outside of tournament matches, it usually meant some serious shit was about to go down.

"Whatever," scoffed Falcon, turning his head away from the Sheikah. "You still look like a dude to me." His eyes barely fell to her chest area for a moment before he fixed his gaze back on her semi-hidden face.

"We don't have much time," said Sheik, glancing behind her to make sure the coast was clear. "If we don't act now, the entire mansion will fall to the Swarm."

Falcon raised his eyebrows curiously, but of course Sheik couldn't notice this beneath the helmet. "Swarm? Wait, are you telling me you know what those things are?"

"I cannot say for certain," replied Sheik, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Those creatures that you encountered are however, in fact called Swarm. They were so named by Master Hand according to the documents I found in his room."

"You broke into Master Hand's room?!"

"Listen. The Swarm are a relentless plague. Their sole purpose is to consume, and to evolve themselves using the DNA of their prey. Individually, the bugs cannot survive on their own as they have a susceptible weakness to the natural elements. As a group, they can thrive off of one another in order to change shape, and rewrite their genetic structure to copy other beings that fall to them. Even with the combined force of the entire Smash Brothers, the Swarm will constantly reproduce and multiply until there is nothing left to consume. Our only hope of putting an end to this is to find Master Hand and get him to banish the Swarm to Subspace or another dimension where they cannot feed any longer. Do I make myself clear?"

Falcon stood there with a finger to his chin, giving a firm nod at the end of her question. It surprised him how much Sheik knew about the creatures considering he and the others were pretty much lost in the dark merely a few minutes ago.

"So in order to beat them we have to find Master Hand?" asked Falcon. "Sounds easy enough. Better him than me."

"I will make my way to the mansion's east side and see what I can find there," replied Sheik as she took a few steps down the hall. "I need you to rally as many of the others as you can and cover every floor on the west end." She paused for a moment. "Falcon, I know you don't like taking orders from me, but right now it's a matter of life or death. One wrong move could mean the end for all of us. Please make sure it doesn't come to that."

Falcon's mind instantly went to Lucina at those words, but he shook himself out of it by responding with a thumbs up.

"No biggie," he said. "I never see you around here anyway so it's glad to know that you're still alive and kickin'." He noticed her taking a Deku Nut out of her pocket. "Wait, you're leaving already?"

"Like I said, there isn't much time," replied Sheik nonchalantly. "As much as I'd love to stay here and chat, I'm afraid I've got other matters to attend to… namely the whereabouts of a certain Crazy Hand…"

"Hold on!" Falcon held up a hand. "Can you at least tell me where the hell these Swarm things came from?"

Sheik hesitated, her eyes fixed on the carpeted floor below Falcon's feet. She gripped her Deku Nut lightly, and finally glanced up at him before taking a few steps back.

"I know not of where these monsters originate from," she said. "But I feel as if I have seen them from somewhere before… in a dream."

With that, the Sheikah threw down her Deku Nut and disappeared in a flash. Falcon had to shield his eyes from the resulting explosion, and when he was finally able to steal a glance, the woman had completely vanished. The only thing left behind was a thin trail of smoke and a black blotch on the ground that some poor Waddle Dee was probably going to have to clean up later (provided they all made it out of this catastrophe alive). Nevertheless, her departing words were very unsettling to the F-Zero racer.

"_Dammit, I gotta find Lucina fast_."

Falcon ran off again, this time at a quicker pace than before, but he made sure to keep lightly on his toes in order to not attract any unwanted attention. He ended up having to stop and go a few times when he encountered more Swarm in some of the neighbouring halls, forcing him to take more detours until it got to the point where he wasn't even sure what side of the mansion he was on. The constant buzzing wasn't helping in the slightest, and he almost debated calling it quits and returning to Master Hand's office in order to do some more snooping around. The thought of rescuing Lucina continued to hammer at his mind, however, and just thinking about her life being in danger was more than enough motivation for him. Besides, if Robin was the one who went looking for her, would he pack up and call it day after too much frustration?

Probably not.

Eventually, Falcon did manage to make it to the dormitories, and thankfully Lucina's hall seemed to be devoid of anything that resembled a Shadow Bug. He swiftly made his way to the door and opened it up, stepping into the darkened room. It was still daytime outside, but the curtains were mostly closed, probably left this way in order to make it easier for her to sleep…

Not like she needed it anyway.

Faster than lightning, Falcon leapt to the side of her bed to be met with the pretty girl he had been seeking this entire time. Lucina was sleeping peacefully, or about as peacefully as anyone would sleep if they were in a coma. Her breaths were slow and constant, and Falcon almost found himself getting lost staring at the lump of blanket that steadily rose and fell.

"_Alright, let's get you out of here._"

Falcon grabbed the sheets and was about to pull them off of her, but stopped himself as another thought occurred to him. What if she was the kind of person who went to bed with little to no clothes on? Not that this was a problem considering she was more or less knocked out at this point, but he knew she wouldn't appreciate waking up to nose bleed all over her body.

Falcon could feel the warm air from her nostrils brush against his gloved fingers as he held his hand in place, hesitating for what seemed like eternity and pondering what was possibly one of the most outrageous things he had ever debated in his life. He stood there for about a minute staring at her and listening anxiously to the muffled buzzing coming from downstairs when he finally decided to just man up and deal with it. And hey, if she just so happened to be the kind of girl who slept naked then she couldn't hate him for at least trying to save her helpless body from inevitable peril. He made sure to shield his eyes just in case, for as much as he wouldn't mind getting a free peek, he knew he'd never be able to live it down in the long run.

Fortunately for both of them, it turned out she was already dressed in her standard blue light-armor. Falcon sighed a heavy sigh of relief as he briskly pulled the remaining sheets off the girl and fastened on her boots. He also took the liberty of strapping her sheath to her belt (which honestly took him a lot longer than he would like to admit). Now with Lucina fully clothed and ready for action, Falcon lifted her up in his arms, making sure not to knock her head on anything. Even with the armor, she was actually pretty light, and fortunately for Falcon he was about a head taller than her anyway, making this delivery boy's job all the more easier.

"Hang in there," said Falcon quietly as he stared at the girl in his arms. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

Lucina responded obliviously with a string of drool that ended up dripping to the floor.

Damsel in hand, Falcon kicked open the door to the hall and glanced back and forth. The Swarm must have moved on to another location to loiter, which was more than what he could have asked for at this point. He made his way down the eastern hall, heading for the stairs. With any luck, he could meet Robin and the others at Master Hand's office so they could get down to the bottom of this living nightmare once and for all.

* * *

Meanwhile in the foyer…

* * *

"Master Hand is dead; I saw it with my own eyes. Cowering in his room, sprawled out on the floor, eaten alive by these very creatures. He didn't have a ghost of a chance."

Ganondorf wasn't fazed at all by the apparent chaos going on in the foyer. The Swarm that surrounded the area seemed to flow around him like a mere air current. While other fighters such as Mario, Pikachu, and Samus fought for their lives, a select few consisting of Ike, Shulk, Marth, Robin, and Palutena stood amidst the catastrophe across the room from the Lord of Evil himself.

"Liar!" responded Ike with a hint of rage. "Master Hand would never abandon us!"

"You have no proof," added Robin. "I wouldn't be surprised if you made that up just to throw us off."

Truthfully, the mage was still sour about the mishap that took place outside of Wario's room. Regardless, he knew that Ganondorf still possessed the last sample of Dream Tap, and Naga knew he would do whatever it took to reclaim the forbidden vial.

"Believe whatever you wish," replied Ganondorf calmly. "The truth is never easy to accept."

"Why should we believe you?" asked Marth seriously. "You're not even trying to help us!"

"You fools." The Gerudo King threw his arm out, his cape fluttering up in the wind created by the surrounding Swarm. "These creatures cannot harm me. Try as they might, all that is evil cannot bend against my will. I cannot command them to do my bidding, but I am at least invulnerable to their attacks." He began to demonstrate this as a flow of Swarm spiraled from under his arm into the palm of his hand before dispersing back into the air.

"That should give you all the more reason to help!" responded Palutena. A wave of Swarm came crashing down on the group from above, but thankfully Shulk was able to react just in time with his Monado Shield Art, casting a golden dome of light over him and his friends. The Swarm that connected with the shield ended up reflecting back into the room, where Charizard and Dark Pit were having trouble rounding them up.

"I've never seen anyone act so selfish," said the Homs boy with a grimace. "Is this how you repay your friends!?"

"You heroes are no friends of mine." Ganondorf crossed his arms without giving the other characters a second glance. "Besides, your 'help' should be on its way any moment now."

Just then, the doors at the top of the stairs burst open, revealing Sonic, Link, Toon Link, Game and Watch, Duck Hunt, Diddy, Megaman, Lucas, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Morton. The hedgehog at the front of the group gave a wink while everyone else pulled out their weapons.

"Hey, are we too late for the party?" said the hedgehog with a grin.

"Better late than never!" replied Pit from up above as he fired triple arrows at a cloud of Swarm. "Come on!"

The Smashers leapt into action as bullets, arrows, Mechakoopas, and 2D hot dogs came flying through the air, obliterating tons of Swarm in mere seconds. The black creatures caught on to the assault really fast, and soon began directing their attacks at the incoming fighters. This gave the others more time to retaliate and regroup, and soon enough, the Smashers were making their valiant comeback to the relentless invaders.

Ganondorf remained standing at the side without a care in the world, but Robin's gaze was still on him the entire time.

Eventually, Link landed onto the main floor from above, performing a spin attack to clear the area of anymore Swarm.

"Sorry I'm late!" he said as he stood up. "We had a little trouble getting here."

"Glad you could make it," replied Marth as he joined his side. "I was beginning to think we were about to lose this."

"Will someone get this marshmallow offa me!?" cried Dedede in the background, a zombified Kirby still latched onto his face.

"Hey Ganondorf," said Link as he locked eyes with his lifelong enemy. "Are you here to spread some good news as always?"

"Don't make me laugh fairy-boy," replied the Gerudo King with a snarl. "You must be out of your mind if you think I'm going to help _you_ fight these creatures."

"Alright, but you better watch yourself. I hear we've been getting some bad pickpockets lately." The swordsmen returned to hacking and slashing at the Swarm as another wave came spilling in from one of the windows. Ganondorf raised an eyebrow in confusion at the Hylian's last words.

"Pick…pocket? What does he-"

Ganondorf looked down to see Robin crouched on the ground with a hand reaching to snatch the Dream Tap pouch on his belt. The Gerudo King frowned and cleared his throat audibly, causing the mage to look up and give a sheepish smile.

"Eheh… Um. Yoink?"

Ganondorf smirked, thinking that he caught the thief in the act, but he didn't anticipate Robin stomping on his foot with such force that he actually had to howl in pain. He began to comically hop around on one foot while clutching his wounded limb, which was more than enough opportunity for Robin to swipe the pouch from under his nose and make a break for it.

"Get back here, tactician!" hollered Ganondorf.

Robin began running as fast his boots would take him (which really wasn't that fast at all) as he began dodging past other Smashers and Swarm in an attempt to escape Ganondorf's clutches. Unfortunately, the clanking sound of heavy boots could be heard gaining on him, and soon Robin found himself being held in the air with a Flame Choke and staring down into the eyes of the dark villain.

Ganondorf grinned evilly. "Heheh. Game over."

With nowhere to run, Robin did the only thing he could do in order to keep the Dream Tap away from Ganondorf.

"Ike, catch!" he shouted, tossing the small pouch across the room. The pouch lobbed through a fog of Swarm, just below the tail of a low-flying Charizard, and into the hands of a blue-haired mercenary who just landed from a fresh Aether kill.

"What is this?" asked Ike curiously, but didn't even have time to think about it as another Swarm wave came racing towards him.

"Don't let Ganondorf get it!" replied Robin, but he was quickly shut up when Ganondorf tossed him aside and began stomping towards the Radiant Hero. Ike took notice of this immediately and made no hesitation to hang onto the drug any longer.

"Shulk! Up high!" he shouted. Ike threw the pouch overhead, and was received easily by the Monado boy who just so happened to be passing by with his Speed Arts activated.

"What the-"

"Give it here, seer!" An enraged Ganondorf came steamrolling towards him, but Shulk's Monado saw it coming from a mile away, and he was able to hand it off to a bypassing Sonic.

"I don't know what this is, but if Ganondorf wants it, then it's mine!" he said, zooming past another group of fighters and wall-jumping onto the second floor balcony. "You're too slow!"

Ironically, Sonic ended up being the one who was too slow, as was proven when Bowser simply swiped the pouch from the hedgehog and knocked him off the balcony with a swing of his tail. The Koopa King roared with laughter as he rained flames all over the room, melting several packs of Swarm and almost poor Pit's angel wings as well.

"What is this, Ganon?" asked Bowser as he eyed the small item in his claws.

"The last sample of the Dream Tap," replied the Gerudo King. "Do not let those heroes get their hands on it!"

Funny enough, the pouch was instantly snatched from Bowser by Diddy Kong, who leap-frogged over the Koopa while screeching "HOO HAH!" The monkey made a break for the door, but was stopped when Bowser Jr. slammed into him with his clown car, the pouch flying into the air and landing in his grizzly paws.

"Hey dad, can I keep this?" he asked with a smirk.

"You got enough damn toys!" replied Bowser. "Just don't let that meddling plumber get it!"

"I'm not a plumber, but I know someone who could use this," interjected Megaman, tossing a Metal Blade to knock the pouch out of Junior's hand. The Duck Hunt Dog quickly grabbed it in midair with his mouth, but was knocked clean off his feet when Morton collided with him. Duck was able to nab it for about a second before he got fried by Bowser, and then this whole charade wore on between heroes and villains for several exchanges as everyone tried to desperately to get their hands on the pouch whilst fending off Swarm at the same time. Most of the Smashers didn't even know what the Dream Tap was for, but Robin was able to talk almost everyone into salvaging the final sample. Things got even more complex when Wario burst into the room hollering, "Here I go!" and snatching the sample from Game and Watch's butter fingers while parading around on his motorcycle.

"You losers wish you could get a piece of this!" taunted the biker as he rode up the stairs, smearing tire tracks all over the place.

"Wario! I'm open!" shouted Dedede from the main floor. Wario tossed the pouch his way, and the king had it for about half a second before he got tackled by Kirby again.

"I'll take that," muttered Meta Knight, grabbing the pouch and vanishing to an open area of the room. Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate Ganondorf being there so fast, and was soon met by an axe kick to the face. Ganon raised the pouch up high triumphantly only to have it taken by Toon Link's boomerang, who in turn lost it to Morton, who in turn lost it to Sonic and so on and so forth.

At this point, the battle for the mansion ended up degrading to battle for the Dream Tap, and even some of the Swarm had voted to waiting by the sidelines to watch the crazy fight unfold seeing as how some of the Smashers weren't even paying attention to them anyway.

Shulk, Marth, and Ike all charged at Ganondorf, bypassing any and all obstacles just to get their hands on the vial. The Gerudo King's gaze jumped around the room as he tried to find another villain to toss it too. Unfortunately for him, Bowser was too preoccupied trying to chomp Sonic's head off, while Bowser Jr. and Morton were being blocked by Lucas, Diddy, and Megaman. Dedede, of course, was still about as useless as always with the rabid Kirby attached to his face.

This of course only left the Lord of Evil one choice.

"Dark Pit!" he shouted, chucking the pouch high into the room where the epic air battle continued to rage on. While Princess Peach and Charizard whizzed by with flames and vegetables, Dark Pit stopped in midair, catching the pouch in his hand. He hadn't been really paying attention to what was going on below, and was kind of surprised to see a bunch of the grounded Smashers looking at him with their arms up like children.

Dark Pit eyed the suspicious pouch with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yo Dark Pit! I'm open!" shouted Wario from the nearby banister rail.

Dark Pit glanced at the fat Smasher, and then at Ganondorf before giving a frown.

"Oh, please," he said in annoyance. "I'm not on anyone's side." He promptly threw the pouch haphazardly over his shoulder, causing it to fall directly to the floor below him. Robin made a mad dash for the item and was barely able to snag thanks to a well-timed dive.

Both Ganondorf and Wario just stood there with their mouths almost touching the floor.

"I…I could have sworn he was a bad guy," mumbled Wario in disbelief.

This of course only made Ganondorf's rage levels go through the roof as dark flames began encircling his body. Robin was soon joined by Marth, Ike, Samus, Shulk, and Meta Knight by the main doors in the heart of the room.

"You're going to pay for this, tactician," said Ganondorf darkly. "You're all going to-"

"Oi, watch your head," replied Shulk, pointing behind the Lord of Evil.

"What?..."

Ganondorf turned around only to be met with a towering mass of Swarm, and needless to say they did not look very happy. It appeared as though Ganondorf could only maintain his invulnerable aura if he wasn't distracted, which unfortunately dropped due to the chaotic event that just took place. He put an arm up to his face with a grimace.

"No… Curse you! You son of a-"

The tower came splashing down on him like a huge waterfall before sweeping across the room. Many of the Smashers who were on the main floor were immediately swept away by the Swarm, most of them succumbing to the leechlike powers instantly.

Robin's eyes went wide in shock as the approaching wave closed in on his group.

"Time to go!" he said, pushing open the nearby doors and making a break down the hall.

"Come on!" shouted Ike, pushing through along with his friends. The cries of other Smashers made him want to turn back, but he pressed on knowing that all hope was lost for those who got caught in the foyer.

"Where to now?" shouted Marth from the back of the group. The harsh buzzing noise could be heard gaining on them, but Robin did not dare look back to see how close they were.

"Third floor!" replied the tactician. "We need to find Master Hand now! Everyone, on me!"

He broke in to a nearby stairwell, followed by Ike, Shulk, Meta Knight, Samus, and Marth. Mr. Game and Watch came scrambling behind with 2D sweat drops falling off his face, but just as he was about to make it to the stairs, a horde of the black creatures swept him up, consuming his small body in a near instant.

* * *

Elsewhere…

* * *

"Why does this always happen to meeeaaahhh!?"

Falcon ran for dear life down the halls with another Swarm cloud tailing him. Having to carry Lucina wasn't making things any easier, but he wasn't about to just give up now. Not when he was so close!

Eventually, he came to an intersection, or a fork in the corridor that split off into a left and right path. He was already disoriented enough from all the running around, and he didn't even have any concept of north and south as this point. He just wanted to get the hell out of here! He began dancing on his feet like a kid wanting to go to the bathroom really badly as he debated which direction to take.

"_Think, think, THINK!_" he thought before shouting out loud, "Where the hell is Master Hand's office?!"

Fortunately, his prayers were soon answered when a black shadow formed in the ground beneath his feet. Greninja sprang up from below, that half-awake stare in its eyes as it gazed at Falcon while pointing a webbed hand in the left direction.

"Greninj," said the ninja Pokémon plainly.

"Oh, thanks," replied Falcon casually as he began running down the aforementioned corridor. Greninja turned around to face the oncoming Swarm, causing Falcon to double back out of fear for his comrade. "Wait! Don't tell me you're going to fight those things!?"

"Greninja," replied the Pokémon calmly, shooing the F-Zero racer away as if he was some sort of fly.

Falcon couldn't help but pout in response, but he didn't think twice before taking off yet again.

"Suit yourself!" he said as he dashed away. "Good luck to you!"

Greninja took a deep breath as the Swarm came sweeping down the hall like a mass flood. At the last possible moment, the Pokémon switched its body with a Substitute doll, disappearing beneath the shadows with a Shadow Sneak. The Swarm began dismembering the doll without a moment's hesitation, giving Greninja more than enough time to slither away and reappear in the ceiling of one of the alcoves. With any luck, that little maneuver would have bought Falcon enough time to gain a huge lead on the creatures.

Luckily, Falcon was able to run into another Smasher on his adventurous excursion. Master Hand's office was nearby, and with only a few more corridors to turn down, he could almost taste salvation on the tip of his tongue. Luigi just so happened to be nonchalantly passing by with his Poltergust 5000, and the mustached plumber took great pride in his weapon as he stood in the middle of the hallway with the nozzle poised at the oncoming Swarm.

"Luigi! Am I glad to see you!" said Falcon as he came to a halt at the Smasher's side. Luigi simply rubbed the bottom of his nose with his index finger.

"Don't-a worry. Weegee got dis," he replied confidently.

The angry Swarm came buzzing around the corner towards the two Smashers at incredible speed. Luigi reacted just in time, powering on his device and creating a massive typhoon that began sucking up the Swarm creatures hundreds at a time. Falcon stood behind the green plumber watching the spectacular show.

"Woohoo!" he cheered. "Come get some!"

Luigi kept on sucking away the bugs, and it surprised Falcon just how much that little pack on the plumber's back could take. Eventually, Luigi had sucked up all of the creatures that had been following Falcon, and he did a victory dance by swinging the neck of his vacuum around and latching it back into its place.

"Bang bang!" taunted Luigi, making a pistol gesture with his hands. If he had any free hands, Falcon would have given the plumber a high-five.

"If we make it out of this, drinks are on me," he said with a smirk. Luigi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sounds good. Maybe now people will finally start paying attention to-"

Suddenly, the Poltergust 5000 began shaking violently. Luigi started to panic, attempting to pry the device off of his back before the inevitable happened. Falcon had no choice but to take a few steps back, and the next thing either of them knew, the Poltergust had exploded, the Swarm creatures dispersing back into the hallway. Needless to say, Luigi was immediately overwhelmed as he cried out in horror.

"Wahhh! Help-a meeee!" he cried, but of course there was no hope for him. All Falcon could see was a struggling black body beneath a sea of more blackness. He figured that now was a good a time as any to get the hell out of here.

Without any words, the F-Zero racer was off on his marathon run again, this time not even daring to look back at the horrifying fate that would possibly fall upon him and Lucina.

* * *

**Author's Note:** A lot of stuff happening really fast, but the important thing now is that Falcon has Lucina, and Robin has the Dream Tap. Some of the action scenes in this chapter were kind of unnecessary, but I thought they would be funny so I kept them in. I actually had to cut a few scenes out. Seriously, I had so many ideas for some of the Smashers, but I didn't want things to get repetitive, boring, or pointless, so I only stuck with what the main characters were going through. This chapter could have been longer, but I'm stopping here because I don't want to go overboard. Next chapter will probably be shorter than this.


	28. Trapped

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 28: Trapped

* * *

The battle for the mansion was over before it started.

Simply put, any Smasher who was not able to find an escape route from the main foyer was consumed on the spot. The Swarm began pouring in from every possible entrance, including windows, trapdoors, and chimneys. It was like a sea of black tide had come out from Hell to defile the magnificent corridors of the mansion. The Smashers who were quick on their feet, such as Sonic and Diddy Kong, were able to escape albeit with a few leeches latched onto their bodies. Other airborne fighters like the angel twins and Charizard were also fortunate enough to flee without getting so much as a scratch, but it didn't mean anything when every exit had been completely sealed off.

The mansion had gone into lockdown, effectively amplifying the magical strength of the outside barriers and trapping the Smashers inside the mansion with the Swarm. This was a security measure implemented by both R.O.B. and Master Hand in the case of a catastrophic event. Realistically, having the mansion on lockdown prevented the tournament from being upheld by natural disasters, and other similar tragedies like a rampaging Rayquaza or even Tabuu's great return (knock on wood). It was really meant to keep trespassers out, but oddly enough, it was doing a hell of a job at keeping the bad guys in.

While a lot of the Smashers were busy running for their lives or fighting back in scattered areas of the mansion, Robin and crew were making their way to Master Hand's office just as he originally planned. Along the way, they had managed to run into Yoshi and Villager, two characters who did not hesitate in the slightest to join their fleeing caravan. Fortunately, they weren't beat up too badly, and Yoshi even took the liberty of jumping into the front of the line, clearing the way with his signature Egg Roll ability.

"Stay close everyone! We're almost there!" shouted Robin from the front of the pack as he followed the steamrolling Yoshi egg down the hall.

The flood of gaining Swarm lashed out at Marth, but was deflected thanks to Samus' Charge Beam. The Smashers realized that they themselves may have been the last surviving members in the mansion, and they weren't about to find out what would happen if they were nabbed by the shadow creatures.

Getting overwhelmed by the Swarm sounded painful to say the least.

"Left corridor!" said Shulk, his eyes glowing with the light of the Monado.

Without a moment's protest, Yoshi turned down the appropriate hall just as another pack of Swarm poured out of a room from the right. It seemed that the closer they got to their destination, the more enemies were starting to appear. This was even more apparent when the group bypassed several cowering Waddle Dees who were getting picked off one by one like insects.

Eventually, the Smashers came across the final hallway, which just so happened to be an exceedingly long one where Master Hand's office was situated. Unfortunately, Yoshi had to stop upon turning the corner as the entire area had been littered with bugs. The ceiling, walls, and even floor were covered in Swarm, the constant vibrations and buzzing now louder than ever before. Both Ike and Robin almost flinched upon seeing the dark wasteland before them.

"It's a dead end," said the blue-haired swordsman, narrowing his eyes on the double doors of the office on the other side of the hazard.

"There's got to be a way around this!" replied Marth from the back.

"I've got it," said Robin all of a sudden as he pulled out his tome and began charging a spell. "Just give me a second and I'll clear this up in no time."

The stampeding sound of the Swarm from before echoed down the hall, and soon the monsters in question came rushing towards the group like a hurricane. Villager grabbed onto Samus' leg out of panic, but the bounty huntress showed no signs of fear. She aimed down her sights at the approaching mob and began firing rockets, followed by Yoshi who joined in with his own fair share of eggs.

"We don't have a second," muttered Meta Knight, his golden eyes darting from one enemy to the other.

Robin ignored his comment as his special attack finished charging.

"Alright, stand back!" shouted Robin over the harsh noise. He threw out his hand, a large bolt of lightning surging through his body. "Thoron!"

The electric spell fired from his fingertips, whizzing down the hall and disintegrating Swarm creatures on sight. Unfortunately, the spell wasn't wide enough to cover the entire area as he was only able to carve a narrow path through the Swarm that were on the floor. Given the miniscule amount of time they had, it looked like this would have to suffice.

"Single file, everyone! Come on!"

The tactician dashed down the narrow corridor followed by Ike, Shulk, Meta Knight, and the others. The Swarm pack from before was now chasing them down the hall as well, and Robin almost lost his footing completely when he noticed the creatures on the floor were starting to close in from the side. He could see the doors to the office in the clearing just up ahead! He couldn't look back, but he silently prayed that his friends would be as fortunate as him.

Being at the front of the group, Robin broke through the mass of Swarm and into the clearing with ease, but not before collapsing on the floor. Other Smashers soon followed, including Samus who still had poor Villager latched onto her metallic limb. Ike offered a hand to the tactician who took it graciously, while Yoshi and Shulk also pulled themselves to their feet.

"Did we make it?" asked Robin, his head still spinning slightly.

"Not quite," replied Meta Knight.

The group turned around to see that the Swarm had molded into a giant wall, completely blocking off the rest of the hallway. Poking out of the wall was just a hint of paleness that contrasted horrifically with the surrounding blackness. It was Marth's hand.

"Marth!" cried Ike, shoving past Meta Knight and reaching for the Altean's hand. Samus quickly grabbed the swordsman by the wrist, pulling him back from the infectious creatures. Ike stood there motionless, staring at the lifeless hand of Marth, which was quickly consumed by the rest of the Swarm. If Marth had given out a cry for help, no one would have been able to hear him. "Dammit all!"

Robin suddenly felt a mountain of guilt dropped on his shoulders; he didn't expect the Swarm to close in on them like that so swiftly. After all, it was his idea that killed Marth. How many more friends were going to suffer because of his misjudgments?

"We have to move on," said the mage, turning to face the double doors further down the hallway. "Come on."

He ran ahead, followed by a reluctant Shulk and Samus. Ike ended up being the last to regroup as he continued staring at the blackened hand of his friend for a few seconds, but was snapped out of his trance as more Swarm broke free from the pack and began lashing out at him. He quickly caught up to the group just as Robin opened the doors, a horde of Swarm on his tail.

"Quickly! Everyone inside!" said Robin as the other Smashers came darting in one by one. This really didn't take more than a few seconds, but just as he was about to shut the doors for good, the familiar sound of a friend caused him to hesitate.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Robin poked his head out of the room and down the other hall to see Captain Falcon scrambling towards him with Lucina in his arms and a mob of angry Swarm on his butt.

"Falcon!?" shouted Robin in disbelief. "What took you so long!?"

"Take a guess genius!" replied Falcon as he galloped towards the tactician's location. He noticed the other group of Swarm heading right towards him from the other corridor, so basically what this came down to was who was going to reach Master Hand's office first. "Don't you dare close that door!"

"I won't! Will you hurry up?!"

"I'm trying!"

Fortunately, Falcon made to the door just in time by practically falling into the room. Robin slammed the office doors shut just as the evil creatures reached their position. What resulted after this was more or less a series of violent ramming against the other side as the Swarm army attempted to break down the door. Robin was immediately pushed to the ground from the force of the blow, but Samus and Meta Knight were quick to reach the barricade and prop their bodies up against it.

Captain Falcon was lying on the floor, along with Lucina who had landed a few feet away from him. Despite all the excitement, she was still sleeping.

"You alright there?" said Ike as he pulled the captain to his feet.

"Oh yeah, I'm good," replied Falcon, cracking his back as he stood up. "Just another day in paradise."

The racer's gaze quickly fell to Lucina, who was now in Robin's arms. Well actually, her head was more or less in his lap as he kneeled next to her on the floor.

"She's still asleep," muttered the mage.

"So is it true?" asked Shulk from the side. "Is she really?..."

"She won't wake up." Robin sighed. "Grima has her under his control. Her breathing is a sure sign that she's alive though."

"Not to be rude," interrupted Ike," but we've got more important things to worry about right now." He glanced at the double doors where Meta Knight, Samus, and now Yoshi were at. The continued slamming from the Swarm was only getting worse, and the friends knew it would only be a matter of time before they broke in. "Hold on… Where's Villager?"

Samus glanced down at her leg to find that the happy-go-lucky silent kid was no longer clutching onto her. She shook her head in dismay. The other Smashers looked around the room, but Villager didn't turn up anywhere. It seemed that he had also been taken by the Swarm right from under the noses of the Smashers.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," said Falcon, sitting cross legged on the carpeted floor. "Who else did they get?"

"Mario, Fox, Link," replied Robin. "We were outnumbered right from the start. We were lucky to escape when we could, although I'm not sure what good it does us now."

Indeed, the Smashers were now trapped within the confined space of Master Hand's office with no Master Hand to guide them. They believed he was the only being powerful enough to put an end to this nightmare, or at least the only one who would have a logical explanation as to why the hell these Swarm were attacking them in the first place.

The office itself was quite the grand room, the walls reaching up high about twenty feet and lined with bookshelves containing information on fighters, tournament regulations, items, and stages. At the far end sat Master Hand's large desk, the very same desk he sat behind when he was interviewing each of the Smashers for the new tourney. Beyond the desk was a large window that reached up to the ceiling, although the window was now sealed with a sheet of reinforced steel thanks to lockdown mode. The desk was littered with various files, and the computer appeared to be unplugged. A lone Mario trophy sat on the corner of the desk.

"We can't fight these things," said Shulk as he brought a hand to his chin. "They move so fast, I can barely predict where they're going to be next."

"Maybe Master Hand left us some kind of a clue?" thought Ike aloud as he started investigating the large desk.

Falcon stretched his arms before falling over and lying flat on the floor. He closed his eyes for a few seconds trying to ignore the constant slamming against the doors.

"Well you sure are relaxed," said Robin from the side.

"Not really," replied the racer. "I'm just out of ideas. I ran into Sheik earlier and she told me to look for Master Hand ASAP. And here we are in his office, the one place where the guy usually is ninety-nine percent of the time. Death is literally knocking on the door and we have no way of getting out of this room." His eyes rolled over to Lucina, who continued to sleep soundly in Robin's arms. "At least she's enjoying herself."

"If you're just going to sit there, you can come over here and help," said Meta Knight from the entrance as he pushed his back against the door. Shulk thought he detected a hint of annoyance in the Star Warrior's voice.

"No thanks, I'm good," replied Falcon, who was immediately met with an egg to the face from Yoshi. "Alright alright I'm coming!"

Shulk ended up joining Ike at the desk, and the two continued to look for any signs of Master Hand's whereabouts. Falcon wasn't aware of what Ganondorf had said earlier, but all of the Smashers in the room believed the disembodied hand to be alive anyway. He wasn't very easy to kill, as was proven when some of the Smashers challenged the hand to one on one fights on Final Destination. If the hand was feeling extra cruel one day, he would sometimes invite Crazy Hand to join in on the pummeling. There were only a small handful of Smashers who ever dared to challenge Master Hand to a fight, and to this day, no one had ever managed to beat him… Well, not without the help of a Smash Ball, but those were normally banned anyway.

While Falcon, Samus, Meta Knight, and Yoshi continued to hold up the door, Robin sat in the middle of the floor with Lucina, staring at her face as he tried to decipher the origin of these shadowlike creatures.

"_They attacked us without any sign or warning_," thought the tactician, his gaze falling over the closed eyes of Lucina. "_Shulk was the first to discover them barricaded in this room, but Master Hand couldn't have unleashed them upon us knowingly. He must have been unaware. It's entirely possible that he could have gone into hiding in order to protect himself… or something else. This wouldn't be some kind of test, not with the tournament still on suspension and Lucina having the demonic nightmares…_"

His eyes followed the girl's body all the way down to the Falchion in its hilt.

"_He was persistent in ensuring that the Dream Tap was not in anyone's possession. Because of her induced sleep, Lucina is the only one who hasn't laid eyes upon any of these shadow creatures. How convenient it is that the day she falls into a coma, these monsters begin attacking us_." The mage looked up at Ike and Shulk across the room, his eyes becoming struck with some sort of realization. "_Unless…_"

Suddenly, a voice came from the other side of the door, but the buzzing of the Swarm continued as always.

"Hello? I-Is anyone in there?"

The Smashers couldn't believe what they were hearing, and Falcon almost lost his balance entirely at the sound of anyone being able to speak from the fog of bugs outside.

"Was that Marth?" said Falcon in disbelief.

"H-Hello?"

Indeed, the voice coming in from the hall sounded exactly like that of the Altean prince. But that was impossible! Robin saw Marth get consumed by the creatures with his very eyes! He was certain that there was no escape from the Swarm after being consumed. Was this some kind of a trick?

"Marth!" shouted Ike as he stomped back over to the door. Samus and the others continued to hold it back as the mercenary approached them. "Marth, is that you?"

"Ike?" said the voice from the hall. "Please, open the door. The Swarm are taking over my body. Please, help me!"

"He's lying," responded Meta Knight seriously. "Do not be fooled so easily. The creatures must be using his body as some sort of puppet to speak to us."

"It's not a trick," continued Marth. "I promise."

"Oh yeah?" said Falcon. "Well, if you really are Marth, then what did I get you for Christmas last year?"

"A hair straightener."

"Hey, he's right!"

"Falcon, you give him one of those _every_ year," muttered Meta Knight while shaking his head.

Yoshi leaned up and put an eye to the peephole in the door. As expected, what he saw on the other side was a haze of blackness, like static on the useless channels of a television. The green dinosaur angled his head up and down, trying to get a view of the Altean in question, and eventually was able to see the side of Marth's head. The blue-haired Smasher appeared to be fine, and he stood out like a sore thumb among the darkness of the Swarm. It wasn't until the prince turned to face Yoshi through the peephole that the dinosaur gasped horrifically before dramatically fainting on the spot.

"What the hell?" mumbled Falcon as the other Smashers stared at the petrified body of Yoshi on the floor. Ike made his way up to the door and took a look through the peephole, but froze on the spot when he realized what he was staring at.

Marth's face had been completely wiped clean of any facial features. No eyes, no nose, not even a set of precisely plucked eyebrows. What remained instead was nothing but a gaping hole of blackness, as if the prince was some kind of defective doll that came out of the factory. The sight itself was terrifying to say the least, but it became even creepier when Marth continued talking through the abyss that was his face.

"Open the door, Ike."

Ike backed away from the door and hesitated before shouting out of anger and kicking it violently.

"Monster!" he cried. "Bring him back now!"

"That cannot be done," replied the deranged Marth. "You are all going to die here. Once these doors are open, you will all be consumed and become one with the Core. Doomsday is now upon thee."

"The hell's he going on about?" asked Falcon in confusion.

"He's threatening to kill us," replied Meta Knight flatly.

"What?!"

"This isn't over!" said Ike, putting his face up to the peephole again. "We won't go down without a fight! We'll find a way to save you, Marth! Mario, Link, everyone!"

"It's too late for that," said Marth calmly. "But alas, you have chosen your fate. You may all shut up and die quietly now."

With that, Marth vanished back into the mass of Swarm while the slamming continued to grow stronger and stronger. Ike ended up joining the barricade seeing as how Yoshi was still passed out on the floor.

Robin continued to sit still and conjure up a new plan, his original thoughts now a distant memory thanks to Marth's distraction.

"Shulk, any luck over there?" said the tactician, glancing to the far side of the room where the Homs boy was tossing up papers and other various files.

"Nothing!" he replied. "There's nothing here but schedules for the tournament!"

"Try something! Anything! Look for a button or a switch that can seal the doors permanently!"

Seeing as how Master Hand had a security measure for the windows, there was no reason why he wouldn't have one for the doors. Unless of course that was disabled too, but then again that would be all too convenient for the poor Smashers wouldn't it?

"It's too much!" said Falcon as the forced of the next blow knocked both him and Samus away from the door. They swiftly got back into position. "We can't hold it for long!"

"Aha!" said Shulk as he poked his head under the desk to find a shiny red button underneath it. "If this isn't suspicious, I don't know what is. Here goes!" He pressed the button, causing the entire room to shake like crazy. The Smashers by the door were almost knocked off their feet, while Robin shielded Lucina in case of any falling debris. Soon enough, an area by one of the bookshelves rose up out of the ground, revealing what appeared to be a small elevator. Apparently, Shulk hadn't hit a button to reinforce the door, but unlocked an entirely new and hidden passageway!

"A secret transport," said Robin, nodding his head. "Of course." It appeared as though his suspicions about Master Hand going into hiding may have been correct all along. There was a good chance that the hand had disappeared into his office and fled using the elevator before the Swarm initially attacked. At least, that's how the tactician hoped it went down. "Everyone, let's go!"

He quickly got up, lifting the unconscious Lucina up in his arms. He made his way over to the elevator where Shulk was already waiting. Meanwhile, the four Smashers on the other side of the room were in a bit of a dilemma on their own.

"We can't all go," said Ike all of a sudden. "Two of us need to stay back and hold the doors."

"I vote you and Meta Knight!" replied Falcon instantly. "Come on Samus, let's get out of here!"

The F-Zero racer made a mad dash for freedom while grabbing the bounty huntress' hand, but she immediately pulled back and remained stationary. She shook her head silently beneath the helmet of her power suit.

"You go, Ike," said Meta Knight calmly. "It makes sense to have the fighters who are better armed for fending off the Swarm remain behind. Samus and I will stay."

Ike nodded his head in the Star Warrior's direction before looking at Samus and giving the same gesture.

"Alright, if you're sure," he replied. He glanced at Falcon who had a bit of a sad look about him. Leaving their friends for dead wasn't easy to accept, but they both knew that there really wasn't going to be any other way out of this. "Good luck, you two. Stay strong."

Samus raised a clenched fist, proving that even in the face of Death, the bounty huntress retained no sense of fear.

"Remember, you must find Master Hand," said Meta Knight. "He's the only one who can put an end to this."

"Right." Ike reluctantly moved away from the door and hesitated for much longer than he should have before finishing off with, "Good-bye."

Ike and Falcon ran to the small elevator where the others were waiting. They had no choice but to leave Yoshi behind since he was too big to carry, and there was barely enough room for everyone on the elevator anyway.

"Punch it," said Ike as he stepped onto the platform. Falcon boarded silently while Shulk obediently hit the switch. The next thing they knew, the elevator roared to life and began descending into the ground, Samus and Meta Knight's eyes following them all the way to the floor.

"You sure they're okay with this?" asked Robin.

Ike nodded, but didn't give any kind of verbal response. He could only stare as his friends slowly became obscured by the view of the ground. He felt terrible leaving them behind like this, as if he was abandoning them precisely in their time of need. The feeling was mutual among Shulk, Robin, and Falcon as well, and it made for a very unsettling ride all the way down.

It seemed as though Falcon and Ike both arrived just in time however, for as soon as the elevator disappeared into the floor, the doors to Master Hand's office burst open. The sea of Swarm began pouring into the room.


	29. An Old Friend

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 29: An Old Friend

* * *

As the lift carried the survivors deeper and deeper below the earth's surface, Robin could feel a cold chill run up his spine. The sound of the relentless creatures became nothing but muffled vibrations through the walls, and eventually the only sound that could be heard was that of the platform as it transitioned from tens to hundreds of feet below ground.

Of course, the Smashers did not realize this. Seeing as how they boarded the platform on the third floor, the lift would have had to carry them past the second and first, and right below the basement. It made Robin wonder if somewhere within the walls of the mansion, the mechanisms for this machine could be seen turning like the cogs on a clock.

The only source of light came from their feet, which were illuminated thanks to the small bulbs that lined the perimeter of the tiny floor. The walls were metallic and smelled of factory paper, like the scent one would smell when opening up a new pack of Pokémon cards.

The survivors had only been travelling for a few minutes, each and every passing second becoming more eerie than the next. Much to Falcon's dismay, Lucina was still in Robin's arms. Ike was about as flabbergasted as everyone else just thinking about where the heck this elevator was taking them, but Shulk was more astounded by the fact that the mansion even had a secret elevator. Together, the group shared a moment of silence for their fallen friends, knowing full well that no amount of Super Bombs or Mach Tornados would be able to hold off the infinite Swarm that attacked Master Hand's office.

"How deep are we?" asked Ike after a while. He had been leaning against the railing this entire time with his heavy sword propped up next to him.

"It's hard to tell how fast we're going," replied Shulk. "But I'd say we have to be at least a hundred meters down."

Robin was starting to feel claustrophobic standing there in the tight space; the ceiling wasn't even in viewing distance at this point.

"If my assumptions are correct, then Master Hand should be waiting for us at the bottom of this lift," said the mage, trying to take his mind off the congestive atmosphere. "He's the only chance we've got at stopping these creatures."

"He better be," responded Falcon, punching a fist into his palm. "I've got a few things I'd like to say to the big 'H' myself."

"An explanation would be good enough for me," said Ike. "First Lucina's nightmares, and now this. It's just been one thing after another."

"That's what I was thinking," replied Robin. "But doesn't it seem rather odd to you?"

"What do you mean?"

Robin's gaze fell to the girl in his arms. Some of her hair was covering her pale face in a tangled mess, but still she continued to sleep soundly.

"The day Lucina falls into a coma, the mansion gets attacked by Shadow Bugs," said Robin.

"Swarm," interjected Falcon all of a sudden. The three friends looked up at him who put his hands up in defense. "Ugh, that's what Sheik was calling them I mean. They're not Shadow Bugs."

"Swarm, huh?" muttered Shulk. "Well their name certainly suits them."

"You're right…" said Ike aloud as he thought about Robin's comment. "That's no coincidence."

"Not only that," continued Robin, "but it was also peculiar to me how Master Hand returned Lucina's sword to her after so hastily confiscating it in the first place. It was almost like he was-"

"Trying to get her to trust him."

Robin nodded. "He knows something and he's not telling us about it. When was the last time any of you saw Master Hand in person?"

Ike looked up into the back of his head while Falcon began counting on his fingers.

"Yesterday," said Shulk. "But that was when he made the announcement to suspend the tournament."

"No one has seen him since then. I suppose you also didn't hear about the rumor that he was planning on terminating some fighters."

"Wait," replied Falcon all of a sudden. "You don't mean like…"

"As far as I know, he only planned on removing them from the company," said Robin nonchalantly.

"Oh, that's a relief. It sounded like something much- Wait, what!?"

"Marth told me about it earlier. You didn't know?"

"I already knew that," replied Ike. "But I figured it was just a rumor."

Rumors were rumors, but Master Hand did have a history of terminating fighters in between tournaments. Young Link, Roy, Pichu, the Ice Climbers, they were all prime victims to the giant hand's commanding finger. Getting terminated wasn't all bad, however, as it really only prevented fighters from participating in other tourneys. Lucas was another example who still spent his time hanging around the mansion despite being booted from the new tournament, but he kind of preferred it that way anyway.

"I wouldn't put it past him," muttered Falcon. "The guy's been acting like a real ass lately."

"There's a reason for that as well," explained Robin.

"How the hell do you know all this?"

"I don't." He gave the racer a flat stare. "I've been trying to get to the bottom of this mystery ever since Lucina ended up in the hospital room. Was that not what we discussed on that day, Falcon?"

The memory was faint, but Captain Falcon could barely remember having a heated conversation with Robin about who had the most correct "theory" regarding Lucina's nighttime terrors. It seemed that Robin had been carefully rethinking his theory ever since that fateful day, and the manner in which he was staring at the F-Zero racer caused Ike and Shulk to exchange an awkward glance.

The way that those last words came out of Robin made it seem like he was challenging Captain Falcon to another standoff. Well, they had some time to kill while they were waiting in this elevator so why the heck not?

"Oh yeah, I remember," said Falcon, masking himself with a confident smirk. "You were going on about your 'amazing' theory that you tried to figure out in the library that one night."

"Which night was that?" asked Ike.

"Um… Wait a second, it's coming to me."

"The night you and Falcon stood on night watch in the security room," answered Robin.

"Oh jeez, that was so long ago I can't even think of what we were doing!"

"We were keeping an eye out for Lucina," replied Ike seriously. "That was back when the nightmares first started and she was confined to the hospital room after suffering some slash wounds. We stayed up the entire night, you, R.O.B., and I…" Ike brought a hand to his chin as he tried to recollect what else happened that night, digging for whatever clues he could find seeing as how Robin was already on a roll. "We saw Little Mac as well, but that wasn't until morning. But there was also someone else he mentioned walking around the mansion in the dark."

"That was probably me," replied Robin. "I was going back and forth between my room and the library because I had forgotten some supplies that evening."

"What's your point?" asked Falcon.

The mage shook his head slightly, brushing his white locks out of his eyes. "My point is that I believe I have found enough information to determine where these Swarm are coming from."

"Seriously!?"

"Yes, but it's a longshot." Robin's gaze shifted between each of the other Smashers before falling back to Lucina. "Hear me out. We all know by now that Lucina has been having reoccurring nightmares about monsters coming out of her dreams and attacking her in real life. The creatures may not have been real, but the damage to her body definitely was. Eventually we found out that Grima was the one responsible this entire thing from the very beginning, but how he managed to infest Lucina's head still escapes me. Last night, Lucina and I were able to rescue Falcon, but at the cost of losing her in the dream world."

"Pfft," spat the racer. "You barely even did anything."

"Okay, hold on," replied Shulk. "Is this the dream world that Meta Knight was talking about?"

"I've experienced it myself," explained Robin. "Lucina is somehow able to project an entirely separate plane parallel to ours within her own mind when she sleeps. Anything that goes on inside of that world has an immediate effect on something in the real world. That's why Captain Falcon was asleep for a whole day. His body was here in real life, but his mind was still trapped in Lucina's dream. I believe that's also what's happening to Lucina right now."

"But wouldn't waking up have fixed all that anyway?" asked Ike.

"Again, the dream world exists parallel to ours just as Meta Knight said. It doesn't matter if she's asleep; the fictional plane will continue to exist so long as time keeps ticking. Her falling asleep is merely a gateway used for entering that world, which is what the Dream Tap uses in order to project our own minds into it."

The other Smashers glanced at each other, all of them trying to make sense of this whole explanation. Questions were coming up, but Robin's theory seemed to be pretty solid for the most part. He was using clues he had both heard and experienced, but even with this whole explanation behind Lucina's dreams, it still didn't explain the origin of the Swarm, why Grima was after her, or Master Hand's disappearance.

"Alright, keep going," said Ike. "I think I get this so far."

"Now, provided that's all correct, here's where the theory starts to fall apart," said Robin. "In order for this to make sense, we have to assume that Master Hand believed Lucina from the very start about her dreams, because we all know how much he didn't want to believe her in the first place. It's possible that he was only lying in order to not draw attention to the issue. Anyway, Master Hand takes away Lucina's sword, and then he returns it to her the very same day he decides to put the tournament on suspension. The day after that, we already start hearing rumors about terminating Smashers. I heard from Marth that no matter what happened, I was to prevent Lucina and Master Hand from seeing each other until this whole thing blew over, which I believe was the case because he thought Lucina was the first one on the hit list."

"How could that be so?" asked Shulk. "With the tournament already underway, there's no way he could have simply fired competitors like that. Not to mention that she's a newcomer like us."

"Stay with me; I told you that there are a few holes in this theory. Let's assume that Master Hand wanted to get rid of Lucina from the very beginning. Any particular reason why?"

Now it was Falcon's turn to say something, although he was surprisingly hesitant to open his mouth.

"Because… she's a clone?" muttered the racer.

Every Smasher in the mansion knew about the "clone thing;" it was almost taboo to say it in conversation around the dinner table. Simply put, a clone was a fighter who borrowed the same fighting style as another competitor, which Lucina clearly did in the way she mirrored most of Marth's attacks. She even brandished a sword of the same name as him, but terminating her for being a clone would result in nothing but backlash from spectators. And they all knew what happened the _last _time Master Hand did that after the Melee tournament…

"Not likely," replied Robin. "The company has had its fair share of clones in the past, so terminating her for something like that wouldn't make much sense this late in the season."

"It has to be a dream thing then," said Ike. "It's the only other explanation."

"Correct. Master Hand was afraid of her dreams. He was afraid that her nightmares would spread to other Smashers like some sort of virus. Thus, he probably figured that the best way to get rid of the problem was to just get rid of her."

"Then why didn't he go through with it?" asked Shulk.

"Because something came up." Robin flinched as he felt the ground beneath his feet start to move faster. They must have been approaching their destination… wherever that was. "The Swarm attacked, and that threw all of Master Hand's plans off course."

"Then where did the Swarm come from?" Falcon grabbed onto the rail while Robin was forced to lean back in order to maintain his balance.

"It's obvious," said Robin seriously. "It came from Lucina's head."

The lift began humming like a steam-powered locomotive as it picked up in speed again. It also started shaking aggressively, forcing all of the Smashers to hang on for dear life. It wasn't malfunctioning though since they could still feel the gravity doing a number on their stomachs.

"Brace yourselves!" shouted Ike. "If thing hits the bottom it's going to hurt!"

The elevator fell numerous stories down the tunnel. Any further and they probably would have reached the core of the Earth, but after a few more seconds, the tram returned to its normal steady pace. Falcon had to pick himself up from the crazy tumble he took, and did so unenthusiastically by pulling on Robin's robe, nearly tearing it in the process.

"Really, Falcon?" said Robin with a frown as he stood up straight again.

"Hey, gimme a break!" retorted Falcon. "This thing is moving too damn fast!"

"Maybe if you paid attention for once instead of staring at Lucina's chest…"

"Why I oughtta-"

"Hey guys, look!" exclaimed Shulk.

The Smashers all turned to see themselves descending into a large underground room. The ceiling was absolutely ginormous, and must have been at least three times the height of Master Hand's office. The more Ike looked at it, the more he realized how much the room resembled a cave. The ground was covered in dark stone, as well as the walls, which weren't even flat in the slightest. It looked like they had plunged right into a secret cavern below the very mansion itself! On the far side of the room were several dusty tables and chairs, along with a few stretchers that seemed really out of place. Some of the tables had what appeared to be chemistry equipment scattered all over them, from Bunsen burners to petri dishes to test tubes containing some pretty colorful liquids. Other random junk was also strewn about the room kind of like Wario's dorm room, making it seem like the cave was someone's personal laboratory. Whoever ran this place may as well have put up a sign that said, "I'm up to something suspicious, please leave me alone."

"What on Bionis…" muttered Shulk in awe.

"Well… I certainly didn't see this coming," said Robin as the elevator reached the main floor.

The Smashers all stepped off of the cramped platform, causing the lift to carry itself back up to the top. It looked like they were going to have to wait another decade or so before returning to the surface.

"What is this place?" thought Ike aloud, his gaze darting from one peculiar item to the next. Falcon pushed on ahead of the swordsman and put his hands to his mouth.

"Show me your moves!" he shouted in to the spacious room. Ike immediately put his hands to his ears.

"What are you-"

But he was interrupted when a whole chorus of "Show me your moves!" chimed back from the far side of the cavern as an echo. The army of Captain Falcon voices responding to his comment nearly knocked the mercenary off his feet. Ike just stared at Falcon with a frown.

"Someone was working here," said Shulk as he eyed the various science equipment on the tables.

Meanwhile, Robin had made his way over to one of the stretchers, placing Lucina upon it carefully and fixing her hair out of her face. It was great to give his arms a rest after all this time, but he nearly cringed when he noticed a small metal cart nearby. On top of the cart was a tray with several sharp utensils in it, most of which he couldn't even recognize and did not want to imagine what they were used for. It was kind of like every kid's nightmare upon seeing the plethora of knifelike tools at the dentist's office. He silently wheeled Lucina over to Shulk's side while the Homs boy was busy leaning over and tapping the glass on several test tubes.

"Be careful," said Robin. "Who knows what's in those things."

He wasn't exactly well versed in chemistry, but any kind of unstable compound would have collapsed or imploded upon the elevator dropping in anyway. Shulk was more fascinated to see so many experiments lying out in the open at once. His curiosity was further amplified when he noticed a chalkboard nearby with tons of writing and symbols, none of which he could understand.

"You really think Master Hand's down here?" asked Shulk.

"The more I look around, the more I'm starting to doubt myself," admitted the tactician. "But who do these things belong to if they don't belong to him?"

"Um, guys," said Falcon from afar. "You might want to come take a look at this."

Robin, Shulk and Ike joined him on another side of the room where a large glass tube big enough to fit an adult human was sitting upon a metal platform. The tube had some kind of green liquid contained within it, but the glass was too foggy to tell what was inside. A series of controls on a panel sat idly nearby, along with some other deranged equipment.

"You think there's someone in there?" asked Ike, staring at the giant glass chamber.

"Possibly," replied Robin.

"Only one way to find out," said Shulk, moving over to press the drainage button on the panel.

"Are you nuts!?" shouted Falcon, grabbing the blond boy by the shoulders and moving him aside. "Who knows what could be inside that thing? It's just like that Frankenstein movie I saw last month. If you hit that button, a huge monster is going to come out and attack us!"

"Falcon, how many times do I have to tell you not to believe everything you see on TV?" responded Ike, hitting himself in the eye with an open palm. Granted, the last time Ike had said anything along those lines, Lucina found herself face to face with a demon from Hell in her own bedroom.

"Oh, you're really gonna pull _that_ with me right now?"

"Falcon has a point," said Robin with a nod. "We have no idea what we're up against down here. For all we know, another enemy could be lurking in the shadows nearby."

"Then what do you propose we do?" asked Ike. "Stand around here and wait for those things to get us?" Obviously, he was referring to the Swarm up above, and none of the Smashers honestly had any idea if the creatures were capable of using the lift. Better safe than sorry.

"What if Master Hand's in there?" said Shulk.

Robin bit his lip. The very person they were looking for could very well have been inside the large glass chamber. It would have explained where the hand had run off to after all this time. If that were true, however, what purpose did pickling himself in this test tube serve?

"Very well, Shulk," replied Robin calmly. "Open it."

"Did you not just hear what I said!?" retorted Falcon.

"We don't have a choice. If Master Hand's in there, we need to find out why. Shulk."

"Right," replied the Homs before reaching for the panel and opening the glass casing. He firmly pressed the red button underneath, and the next thing anyone knew, the machine began flashing crimson lights, along with giving off an eerie siren.

The liquid in the glass tube began draining, the remnants of it creating a pool on the floor around the mechanical components. The survivors all had to take a few steps back in order to avoid getting the stuff on their boots, but even out in the open none of them could tell what it was. It actually smelled of moldy plastic, but it wasn't nearly rancid enough to merit plugging one's nose.

As the substance was removed, various body parts on the creature within could be distinguished. At first, there was a head, and a very smooth one at that, pretty much nullifying any suspicion that the thing in this chamber was Master Hand. The creature actually appeared to be more humanoid, possessing features like hands and feet. The being also had some kind of extra limb curling around its body, which appeared to be some form of a tail after the remaining liquid finished draining. Both Robin and Ike could only stare in confusion and disbelief as they racked their brains for any way of identifying this mysterious creature.

"What is it?" asked Ike.

"I… I'm not sure," replied Robin. "I've never seen anything like it."

Shulk noticed Falcon staring at the creature as well, although the F-Zero racer appeared to have a horrific expression upon his normally smug face. Apparently, he knew who this mysterious figure was, but never in his career as a Smasher would he have believed the rumors to be true.

"It… It can't be…" muttered Falcon. "He… He was here all along!"

"What?" Ike and Robin both turned to their companion, but he remained to have a fixed gaze upon the creature in question.

"And all this time I thought he was dead," said Falcon. "Mewtwo."

The creature's eyes shot open, the glass of its prison shattering in a near instant. The Smashers were all blown off their feet as shards and other debris flew against the far wall. Ike quickly pulled himself up, Ragnell in hand.

"Is everyone alright!?" he said. He glanced around to see his comrades getting up. Some of the fog from the tube had dispersed into the room and covered the area with a light sheet.

"I'm good," replied Shulk. Robin got to his feet and armed himself with the Levin Sword, but he noticed Captain Falcon was still standing tall.

"_Who dares disturb my slumber?_" came a booming voice through all of the Smashers' heads.

"What?" said Robin. "Who said that?"

"_I did_." Mewtwo approached the group, his menacing eyes glowing with the aura of a Psychic Pokémon. Although he spoke, his mouth did not move an inch. The Smashers were quick to realize that the creature was using telepathy to communicate with them. "_Identify yourselves_."

"We don't have to answer to you," replied Ike, raising his weapon. "You are standing on the grounds of the Super Smash Brothers!"

"_So you wish to challenge me then?_" said the psychic with a grin. "_Very well_." His round hands began charging some kind of shadowlike sphere. "_I shall make you regret ever setting foot in my domain!_"

The legendary Pokémon reeled back to launch a Shadow Ball, but was stopped midway when a helmeted man jumped in his view with flailing arms.

"Wait!" exclaimed Falcon.

Mewtwo's eyes lost their focus as the energy spheres dissipated into the air.

"_Captain… Falcon?_"

Ike, Shulk, and Robin all lowered their weapons while glancing at each other in confusion. Somehow, Falcon and the creature knew each other from before.

"Hey, you remember me!" said Falcon. "Mewtwo." He stuck a gloved hand out, offering it to the Psychic Pokémon. Mewtwo stared at his open palm hesitantly before accepting it.

"_Wow_," he said. "_It really has been a long time_."

"_What are they, old drinking buddies?_" thought Robin.

Falcon began explaining to the Pokémon what was going on and how he and his group ended up "crashing the party" in the first place. After a brief introduction, the Smashers learned that Mewtwo was in fact a former competitor in the Smash Bros. tournaments way back in the Melee days. Apparently, he had left the scene sometime after the tourney ended in order to hone his skills as a fighter. Some (like Falcon) believed him to be dead after not hearing from him for several years, but it turned out that he had been lying dormant in this underground chamber the entire time. They found out that the green liquid in the chamber was some kind of coolant used to keep his body intact. This entire underground room was more or less his playground, but it never saw any use in recent years.

Eventually, Falcon introduced Mewtwo to the others, who were all just as curious and intrigued to meet a Psychic Pokémon for the first time. It turned out that Mewtwo was not actually a bad guy, but just cranky after being awoken from his deep slumber. It was still perplexing to Robin how such a sinister-looking creature could be friends with a bumbling nincompoop like Captain Falcon.

"_Ah, I see_," said the Pokémon. "_So you are all competitors in the new Smash Brothers tournament_."

"Yes we are," replied Shulk. "If you don't mind my asking, Mewtwo, are all of these experiments yours?" He was referring to all the equipment and other various articles scattered throughout the cave.

"_Certainly_," replied Mewtwo. "_I was running a series of tests on myself in order to help improve my physical capabilities. I planned on awakening at the start of the last tournament, but it appears that I overslept_."

"You're telling me," muttered Falcon. "We sure as hell could have used your help during the Subspace Emissary."

"_The what?_"

"I'm sorry to have to cut this short," interjected Robin, "but right now we don't exactly have a lot of time. We still need to find Master Hand."

Mewtwo's ears twitched at the sound of the giant hand's name, and his focus moved mechanically over to the tactician.

"_Master Hand?_" he said. "_He is here?_"

"We thought he was," replied Ike. "But we ended up finding you instead."

"_I haven't seen Master Hand in over ten years_."

"Consider yourself lucky then," said Falcon. "He's had one of the worst mood swings in the history of mood swings."

"_That's strange_," said Mewtwo as he closed his eyes. "_I've been sensing a lot of sporadic brain activity since you four showed up. As far as I know, the only being who could ever measure up to that is Master Hand_."

"Oh, you might be thinking of Lucina," said Shulk all of a sudden.

"_Lucina?_"

Robin ran over and grabbed the stretcher that she was sleeping on. Lucina had remained about as motionless as she was when they first brought her here. Robin noticed, however, that she started to show signs of stress in her face, and also began mumbling some barely audible words under her breath.

"Lucina?" he said. He moved his ear closer to her mouth to catch any hint of what she was mumbling, but the only words he could make out were "No" and "Stop." Definitely not a good sign.

"_Who is this woman?_" asked Mewtwo as he peered down at the female Smasher curiously.

"Another newcomer," answer Ike. "She hasn't had the best week. Uh… How do I put this…"

"Her dreams are coming to life and trying to kill her," spat Falcon.

"They are also trying to kill _us_," continued Robin. "Just upstairs, your fellow Smashers were fighting for their lives against a swarm of infectious creatures. That's how we ended up down here. There's a good chance that whatever attacked us up there was another incarnation of Lucina's nightmares."

The Psychic Pokémon stared at the other Smashers with a skeptical look on his face.

"_You cannot be serious_," he muttered.

"It's true!" responded everyone else at once.

"_Well, in any case, Lucina does appear to be showing signs of distress. Whatever is transpiring in her mind does not feel pleasant to me. I am beginning to fear for this girl's life_." He looked up. "_I have the power to see everyone's thoughts_." He turned to Shulk. "_Their memories_." To Ike. "_Their relationships_." To Robin. "_Their deepest, darkest secrets_." He glanced at Falcon from the corner of his eye, but ended up closing both. "_I can see everything they love and everything they fear_." His gaze fell to Lucina again, but he did not hesitate in the slightest. "_This girl's mind is nothing but a blur. Whatever is inside her is preventing me from looking in. She is in grave danger_."

"Is there anything you can do? asked Robin. "Anything at all?" He didn't know what kind of power Mewtwo possessed, but being the legendary Pokémon he was, this creature must have had _some_ trick up his sleeve in order to dispel one's inner demons.

"_There is one thing_," replied Mewtwo. "_I can erase her memories permanently_." He paused, waiting for any kind of objection before continuing. "_Cleansing her mind in this manner will undoubtedly remove any and all parasites that have attached themselves to her mental structure. Unfortunately, it is also because of this that she will not remember anything—not even any of you. She will have no recollection of who she is, where she comes from, or what she is even doing here. The qualities that define her as a person would have to be restored right from scratch_."

Robin hesitated as he contemplated on this decision. Here he was given an opportunity to fix everything, including the horrifying fate that had befallen his friends. Wiping Lucina's mind would probably save the Smashers since the Swarm would also be erased as a result. But… What kind of person would she be afterwards? Certainly not the same Lucina he knew and loved. Not to mention, what would her father say if he were to hear about it? The responsibility of looking after her was his own duty after all! He could see it now: "Oh, hi Chrom, the tournament's going fine! Lucina's getting along really well with everyone, although I constantly have to remind her where her room is and how to tie her shoes. Oh yeah, and you're going to have to reintroduce yourself to her when we get back to Ylisse because she has amnesia. But we had a baby girl named Morgan so that's something right?"

Thankfully, Ike spoke up before the tactician had a chance to say anything.

"No," he said seriously. "We can't risk it. Even if erasing her thoughts would bring everyone back, it wouldn't mean anything if we couldn't have the real Lucina either."

"Right," chimed Shulk. "Surely there must be another way?"

But of course!

Robin quickly produced the Dream Tap vial from his pocket that he had stolen from Ganondorf. Wasn't this what he planned on doing with it all along anyway?

"We can use this," said Robin, holding it out for all to see. Falcon eyed the drug curiously, while Mewtwo appeared to have a rather surprised expression on his face.

"_Dream Tap?_" replied the Pokémon. "_Where did you get that?_"

"You can thank Wario for this," said Robin as he tossed the bottle up in the air and caught it. "I'm glad that you recognize it though."

"_Who's Wario?_"

"Eh… Tell ya later."

"That settles it then," said Falcon, clenching a raised fist. "We use the Dream Tap to get into Lucina's head and bring her back! And in the meantime, we can also kick Grima's fat ugly butt."

"What about Master Hand?" asked Shulk.

"_As I said, Lucina's brainwaves seem to share a similar pattern to that of Master Hand's_," said the Psychic Pokémon. "_I do not know where he is, but I can say for sure that the answer you are looking for may very well be within the mind of this girl_." He paused before looking up at the other Smashers. "_The problem is, with the amount of mental stress she is currently undergoing, it's going to be impossible for any of you to tap into her dream without a collapse occurring. What I can do to remedy this is extend her dream plane in order to support your combined weight_."

"I have no idea what you just said but okay," replied Falcon casually.

"It's like what Meta Knight said," explained Ike. "Using the Dream Tap puts a lot of pressure on whoever the host is. If Mewtwo can help to ease that pressure with his own psychic powers, then we should have no problem getting in there."

"Oh! Okay, that makes sense… I think."

"That sure is an incredible power you have," commented Shulk.

"_This will be a good opportunity to 'stretch my muscles' so to speak_," said the Pokémon. "_However, if you all decide to go through with this, one of you must stay behind_."

"Why?"

"_Someone must stay awake, stay on guard, and ensure that I do not wake up_." The Pokémon's tone went a bit darker, signifying that what he was saying was indeed a grave warning. "_If I wake up while the others are tapped into Lucina's dream, the dream plane will collapse and you could find yourselves confined in oblivion forever. Not only that, but there is a high chance that the girl will suffer from significant brain damage or paralysis_."

That last sentence didn't sit well with Robin, but he knew that this really was the only way to save her, as well as the other Smashers. As for Master Hand, well, it looked like he was just going to have to hope that he was somewhere in her head.

"I will stay behind," insisted Robin. As much as he wanted to go into the dream, it didn't mean anything if their whole plan was jeopardized due to some outside source. Besides, he always worked better as the man overseeing progress than the man doing the dirty work. "You can count on me. I'll make sure that nothing stirs you or the others from their sleep."

"That's weird coming from you," mumbled Falcon. "You scared or something?"

"I am not scared!"

"_Is this truly your decision?_" asked Mewtwo. "_I would rather not be held responsible for what happens to any of you. Not that it's any of my business, but I am still a member of the Super Smash Brothers. I would hate to be terminated due to an unfortunate accident that was out of my control_."

There was that word again: "Terminated." A word that had so many meanings, all of which meant something bad no matter how they looked at it.

"Let's do it," said Ike. "This is the only chance we're going to get. The more time we waste talking about it, the less time we have before the Swarm show up again."

"I'll go too," chimed Shulk, holding up a fist. "Lucina needs our help, and I feel bad that I wasn't able to do anything the last time she was in trouble." He turned to Falcon who stood up tall with his hands on his hips.

"You think I'd let you kids hog all the glory?" he said. "No way!"

"_Very well_," replied Mewtwo. "_Prepare yourselves for departure. You may use the stretchers that have been laid out on the other side of the room. They haven't been used in well over a decade so they should be safe to sleep on_."

"Um… Out of curiosity, what are the stretchers for anyway?" asked Robin.

Mewtwo shrugged his shoulders.

"_Stamina mode_."

* * *

So the Smashers wheeled their stretchers together and put them side by side near one of the tables. Mewtwo cleared off another table using his psychic powers before standing upon it and levitating cross legged. Ike, Shulk, Lucina, and Captain Falcon were all seated in their positions. Lucina continued to speak softly and toss and turn, which only made Robin feel even more anxious about this. He wasn't sure what was going to happen if Lucina ended up being the one to wake up first. "Just make sure everyone is asleep" is what he kept telling himself.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Shulk, sitting up on his bed. He placed the Monado down right next to him.

"You bet!" replied Falcon, giving a thumbs up.

"_Good luck you three, and trudge carefully_," said Mewtwo as he closed his eyes. "_I cannot say what awaits you on the dream plane, but I predict that you will not like it_."

"Wow, thanks for the help…"

The Pokémon didn't hear the racer's comment however, because the next thing he knew, Mewtwo had fallen asleep. The psychic sat floating in midair on one of the tables, a purplish aura encircling the area around him. His body was ready.

"Okay Robin," said Ike. "Hit me." Robin walked over and handed him the vial. The swordsman took a quick swig before returning it. "We'll get her back, don't you worry." He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"I know you will."

Robin handed the vial over to Shulk next who accepted it graciously.

"What's the dream world like?" he asked. "Any advice?"

"You won't be able to tell it's a dream," responded Robin. "Try to look for anything out of the ordinary in order to keep your mind in check. Also, if you see a door with my name on it, please don't go in there."

"What do you-"

"You'll know what I mean when you see it."

Shulk shrugged his shoulders before taking a sip of the drink. It tasted of sweet bananas, and he almost wanted to ask for seconds until he realized he was starting to fall. Drowsily, he handed the mage back the vial before curling to the side and drifting into Dreamland.

Last but not least, Robin approached Falcon, but stopped when he noticed the F-Zero racer staring at Lucina in the bed next to him. She still had that distressed look on her face, and even Robin found himself staring for a bit before he cleared his throat, causing Falcon to snap back into reality.

"Oh! Uh, hi," he said.

"You ready?" asked Robin.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess." Falcon stretched his arms before holding out his hand, which Robin filled with the purple vial. Falcon ended up staring at the bottle in his grasp for a few seconds before chuckling. "You know, it's hard to believe that this whole thing started all because of some stupid Horror movie."

Robin thought back to the first night when Lucina was experiencing the nightmares. He hadn't been there when it happened, but that's what he heard from Lucina. She watched a scary movie, and then crazy shit began happening to her. Putting it like that, it sounded kind of lame, but regardless, the past was still the past.

"What was that movie by the way?" asked Robin curiously.

"'A Nightmare on Elm Street,'" replied Falcon plainly. "It's a story about a psychotic serial killer who murders children in their sleep. He actually comes to them in their dreams too…" He paused. "Kind of like what's been happening to Lucina…"

"You don't suppose that's a coincidence?"

"I… I don't know what I think anymore." Falcon seemed rather dumbstruck by the sudden realization of how similar the synopsis of a silly movie could have to this nightmarish situation. "But I guess that would be kind of funny wouldn't it? We come all this way just to find out that Grima is really Freddy Krueger in disguise. Talk about a plot twist!"

Robin couldn't help but chuckle at Falcon's comment. Even in the face of danger, Captain Falcon still had the uncanny ability to have a good laugh whenever he wanted. Robin really envied him in that regard.

"Hey," said Robin all of a sudden. "Don't die on me. Lucina will want to see you when you get back."

Falcon smirked, chugging the remains of the vial before slapping it back into the palm of the tactician. To Robin's surprise, Falcon actually gripped his hand pretty tightly. The next thing they knew, both Smashers were shaking hands with each other.

"Pfft. You can't kill me; I'm Captain effin' Falcon. We'll get her home safe and sound."

"I'll be waiting for you." He let go. "Goodnight."

The good captain gave a salute before falling flat on his back, knocked right out cold. With all of the Smashers sleeping, Robin found himself standing there awkwardly in the dimly-lit room. He strolled over to Lucina's bedside and put a hand through her hair before giving her a light kiss on the forehead. His gaze fell to the other Smashers, and even to Mewtwo who remained sleeping in his upright sitting position. Robin eventually pulled up a chair and sat down next to the beds, tapping his feet, twiddling his thumbs, basically doing anything that would help pass the time. It took him a few seconds to realize it, but it didn't make him feel any better about himself as he contemplated whether to not letting Falcon go in his stead was really the right decision.

He was alone.


	30. The Final Encounter (Part 1)

It Came from Lucina's Head

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**Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update, but I've been kind of busy lately. The last chapter came out two days after the one before it though so I figured it wouldn't hurt to wait on this one a little bit. Enjoy chapter 30 guy-HOLY WHAT!? Chapter 30!? Jeez, that didn't take us very long. And hey, we've achieved 30,000 views since the stories initial launch! 30 chapters, 30,000 views, maybe there's some kind of pattern there?... I have no idea.

* * *

Chapter 30: The Final Encounter (Part 1)

* * *

Shulk was the first to notice the door bearing his own name as they approached it. He stopped just as they passed the room, his eyes fixed on the nameplate stuck to the pulsating wall. Falcon had to double-back and grab the Monado-wielder by the arm, jerking him down the demented corridor like he was a dead dog on a leash.

"How much further, Falcon?" called Ike from up ahead.

"Keep going until you find Lucina's room!" replied the F-Zero racer. "Just don't stop!"

It really was hard to, especially for Ike and Shulk who had never visited this mysterious dream plane before.

The three friends were running down a narrow passageway with an unusually squishy floor, a thick and warm moisture penetrating their nostrils. The violet walls pulsated with the sound of Lucina's beating heart, and they appeared to react sporadically, picking up speeds at some moments and dwindling the next. Despite Falcon's words to ignore the other doors, taking a quick peek into some of them was rather tempting. Even after explaining that going through a door with one of their names on the side would merely bring them back into the same hall, Shulk was persistent to see it for himself. Interestingly, there really weren't a lot of doors in the hall; Shulk didn't even recall running past Robin's door once. Besides nameplates bearing the names of himself, Ike, Falcon, and Mewtwo, this corridor appeared to be mostly empty.

With a trusty tug, Falcon was able to catch up to Ike with ease, but not before pausing to glance at another door belonging to Master Hand. Oddly enough, it was locked.

Eventually, the trio came upon two large double doors with Lucina's name engraved on the nearby plaque. The doors were already in much better condition than Falcon could recall, which was kind of weird considering she was supposed to be on the verge of death right now.

Besides the beating walls, there was nothing but silence.

"Alright gang," said Falcon as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's do this thing."

"Right," replied Ike, hoisting his blade onto his shoulder. "So what's our plan of attack?"

"Plan?" Falcon put a hand on his hip and scratched his helmeted head. "Uh, we just go in there and kill anything we see I guess."

"That's your idea?"

"Well gimme a second here, I don't see you trying to come up with anything!"

"Guys, focus," interjected Shulk. "We should use what limited resources we have to our advantage and plan out our assault strategically."

Falcon crossed his arms and rolled his eyes childishly. It's not that he didn't agree with Shulk so much as the Homs sounded a lot like a certain white-haired tactician…

"What are you thinking, Shulk?" asked Ike.

"Our priority is to wake Lucina up," he replied. "If Grima's here too then we may not even have to fight him. If Ike and I can distract him, then Falcon might be able to split off and locate Lucina on his own. In the meantime, I say we stick together before we try anything rash. Ike, since you're the most durable, you can take the center. Falcon and I will cover you from the side."

Shulk glanced up at the racer who acknowledged him with a firm nod. Ike lowered his weapon and took a step in front of the doors.

"Alright, stand back," he said. "I don't know what to expect on the other side; be prepared for anything." Shulk and Falcon quickly took their positions beside the swordsman as Ike raised Ragnell and charged a Smash Attack. "Get ready… Now!"

He slammed his blade against the shining wood, shattering the barrier instantly. The trio immediately leapt into the room, bracing themselves for whatever Grima had prepared to throw at them. What they ended up finding instead only caused both Ike and Shulk to lower their weapons in shock, while Falcon actually took a step back and flinched.

They were standing in the foyer of Smash Mansion, which normally wouldn't be a bad thing at all, except for the fact that all of the floors, walls, and even the ceiling were smeared with blood, intestines, and other various internal body organs. Body parts belonging to fellow Smashers lay scattered about as if this were some demented child's playroom, the rancid fumes of whatever disaster occurred here assaulting the survivors' noses like a runaway freight train. The stairwells, the chandelier, everything was covered in gore, and the sight alone was more than enough to make Shulk's legs quiver with fear. The organs of dear friends like Samus, Mario, Toon Link, and Marth were littered all over the place, while others such as Pac-Man and Little Mac were barely anything more than describable. Glancing at the torn and shredded clothes, other characters could be picked out like Dark Pit, Sheik, and even Ganondorf, but at a glance there was no telling who or what could have started this bloody massacre.

"I…" muttered Ike, almost dropping his sword in disbelief.

"What the hell happened in here?" said Falcon aloud before feeling a sharp urge in his stomach. He nearly keeled over before catching himself from puking all over the floor.

Shulk was at a loss for words.

Even within the realm of Lucina's dream, the walls continued to pulsate just as they did in the last corridor. Regardless of all the limbs and carcasses, the foyer itself seemed to be rather distorted compared to its real-life counterpart. Ike took a notice that the stairs leading up to the second floor had twisted into a convoluted path, slanting sideways and upwards to the point where the steps were about two feet away from each other. The door to the dining room had been completely blocked off by fallen debris that appeared to be made up of some kind of organic pinkish material (probably flesh or tissue) that sponged out like it was full of liquid. The way the corpses had been lined up cleared an almost perfect path towards the staircase, as if the very nightmare itself was beckoning for the survivors to enter further into Grima's domain.

Needless to say, Falcon was starting to wish Robin had gone in his place.

"Stay strong men!" he exclaimed, raising a fist. "This is obviously some sort of trick! We know our friends aren't really dead… right?"

He wasn't entirely correct, for what the Smashers saw in the real world was nothing more than their friends getting smothered to death by Swarm. There was no blood or bones or anything like what they were witnessing in this room. Although, it was kind of weird how all of the bodies seemed to belong to Smashers who had all fallen to the Swarm earlier…

The decapitated head of Sonic the Hedgehog came tumbling down the stairs, bouncing and bounding across the bloodbath of a room before rolling to a halt in front of Captain Falcon. Falcon stared at the empty void of the face that the pale creature had before becoming as white as a ghost and falling flat on his back. Ike quickly pulled the racer to his feet and began smacking him in the face.

"I'm alright, I'm alright!" shouted Falcon as he came to. "It just took me by surprise!"

"Guys, look there," said Shulk nervously as he pointed out one of the nearby windows. Ike and Falcon both glanced in his direction to see a long blackened tail slither its way up the glass, disappearing in a matter of seconds. Immediately the floor began to rumble, causing Falcon to grab onto his sturdy comrade for support.

"Ugh, now what…" moaned the racer.

"It must be Grima," replied Ike, narrowing his eyes on the crimson skies outside. "Come on, we have to move."

Ike ran on towards the stairs with Falcon stumbling behind him. Shulk hesitated before following as well, but stopped himself at the staircase when he saw a mishmash of limbs belonging to Luigi and Greninja.

"But…" he said worriedly. "What about?..."

"We have to leave them," replied Ike as he bounded up to the second floor. "There's nothing we can do now." He reached the top and helped Falcon up, who was having a bit of trouble getting around some unidentified bloody organs. "Falcon's right; this could all be an illusion meant to deceive us. There's no way that the Smash Bros. could crumble this fast; we have to believe." He waved an arm. "Come on!"

Shulk hesitated yet again, but forced himself to comply with the remarks of the mercenary. He pulled himself up and made it to the top of the stairs, but not before almost tripping on a stray brain or two. As soon as he made it up, the ground began to shake again, at which point the survivors knew they were running out of time.

Ike took the center again, leading the group into another gory hall. They continued on their way past this, ignoring the smeared blood signs that lined the corridor. Every time they turned around, they would come face to face with something along the lines of "_MY FAuLT_" or "_PLEAsE RuN_." In fact, the signs became more and more desperate with each passing room.

"_DoN'T Go_"

"_LEAvE HER_"

"_CoNsuME ME_"

"_You are too late heroes_."

Ike skidded to a stop, followed by his friends who almost ended up crashing into him. They were standing in yet another hallway with nothing particularly interesting about it, save for a few skewered Waddle Dee bodies.

"Did you hear that?" asked Ike.

"I did," replied Shulk. "Who-"

"_The girl is gone_," came the distorted voice again. "_She does not know you anymore_."

"Grima!" shouted Falcon. He began darting back and forth, looking around for where the voice was coming from. "Show yourself you creep! You and me got some unfinished business to attend to!"

"_Your efforts bore me more than death itself_," replied Grima, his ominous voice echoing throughout every nook and cranny of the mansion. "_Enjoy your last moments of breath while they last. If you hurry, you may be able to get one final chance to speak with the girl before she dies_."

His voice trailed off with a taunting laugh that made the F-Zero racer Falcon Punch the wall out of rage. Shulk was immediately hit with another vision, which only lasted a few seconds much like his last one did.

"She's on the roof," he said.

"Right, let's go!" replied Ike as he kicked in the door of a nearby stairwell. The Smashers dashed into the room and began scaling the floors, moving from the second to the third, and then finally… to the fourth?

They continued running in circles up each and every stairwell, coming out and realizing that they still hadn't reached the rooftop. After about five or six cycles, it was getting to the point where it felt like they weren't progressing at all, and it didn't make any sense realistically since the mansion only had three floors to begin with.

"What's going on?" said Falcon between breaths as he climbed up the next set of steps. "Where the hell's the roof?"

"We should have reached it by now," replied Ike from above. He stopped to take a glance out another window to verify that they were indeed advancing floors. The great forest that apparently surrounded the grounds was now reduced to nothing but dead foliage as far as the eye could see. Tie that together with a dark and red sky, and it looked like they were about to have Armageddon on their hands.

"Keep going!" shouted Shulk from the back. "These stairs have to lead somewhere!"

The trio climbed and climbed, all the while ignoring the mocking howls of the Fell Dragon. Eventually, they started hearing another voice in their head, only instead of a menacing beast, this voice instead belonged to something much more pure, like a girl who Falcon could remember spending a lot of time with this past week.

"_Please_…" It was Lucina's voice, although she didn't sound as calm and collective as she normally did. Instead, this Lucina sounded afraid; so much so that it seemed as if she was shivering, or petrified beyond belief. _"Go… Go away_…"

Falcon came to a halt on the stairs.

"Lucina!" cried Falcon as he raised his voice toward the heavens. "Lucina, where are you?!"

"_I can't… Please, stop_…"

"Lucina, can you hear us!?" shouted Shulk.

Their pleas were met with a series of sobbing and sniffling from the girl. This sound alone caused Falcon's blood to boil even further to the point where he felt like decimating the entire stairwell they were standing in.

"She's close!" said Ike, lifting his heavy boots up to the next floor.

The trio pressed on past several more floors, all the while hearing more helpless cries from Lucina. Grima's presence didn't go unnoticed either as every time Shulk looked out the window, he could see another part of the dragon's tail swaying about. He was starting to feel afraid all over again, mainly because he had no idea what to expect from the Fell Dragon.

If Grima could lay waste to the majority of the Smashers, there was no telling what he was going to do to them.

Eventually, the survivors finally reached the top of the stairs, or about as far as they were allowed to go anyway. The stairwell opened up in to a large area, which was certainly the mansion's rooftop, albeit hundreds of feet above the ground. Smash Mansion must have been at least fifty stories high, and a quick glance over the edge only made the view even more fuzzy than it already was.

On the other side of the roof, or on the western side, stood a monstrous black dragon with devilish horns. The creature appeared to have several red eyes that glazed over the survivors with anticipation, the wings of the monster barely moving yet still able to keep it in the air.

In the clearing towards the center of the area sat a small and crippled woman on her knees. Her blue hair and matching cape seemed to flutter in the wind, although the cape barely moved at all considering all the holes that had been torn in it. She was facing the dragon, out of view from the survivors, and judging from her subtle movements she appeared to be crying.

"Lucina!" cried Falcon as he dashed to her side. Ike and Shulk quickly followed, but they did not lower their guard as the Fell Dragon continued to stare at them ominously.

"_Your efforts are in vain_," said Grima seriously. "_The girl is a human no more_."

Falcon got down on his knee as Lucina fell sideways into his arms. To his surprise, she was not missing a face just as Marth was when the Swarm attacked. Instead, she seemed to be rather normal, except for the obvious cuts and bruises on her body. She was alive, but her eyes were wide open like some sort of puppet. She did not blink, but continued to stare on, not even acknowledging the fact that her friends were here now.

Remnants of what used to be tears could be seen creeping down her cheeks.

Lucina, wake up," said Falcon as he shook her a bit. "It's me."

The swordswoman didn't look at him, but continued to stare into the distance. Falcon waved a hand in front of her face, snapped his fingers, pretty much did everything he could to get her attention, but the girl just did not budge. It was like she was hypnotized or something!

"It's too much…" she muttered, her breaths slow and forced as if her lungs had collapsed.

"Lucina, are you alright?" asked Shulk, sticking his face in front of her view. Still, the girl refused to move, looking past the face of her trusted friend as if he were some sort of ghost.

Ike narrowed his eyes at the demon hovering on the other side of the roof.

"What did you do to her!?" he shouted, taking his best shot at trying to intimidate the beast.

Unfortunately, Grima was not so easily swayed.

"_She has been broken_," replied the Fell Dragon calmly. "_She neither has any emotion, nor any recollection of who you fools are. All she has now is her doubts and fears, and there is nothing you can do except watch as the Swarm slowly consume her body from the inside out_."

Falcon let go of his friend and stood up tall, his back facing the dragon with his fist clenched as he stared down at the frozen women he once knew as Lucina. He gritted his teeth with rage, whipping around on the spot as embers began to rise from his clothes.

"What kind of sick twisted fuck are you!?" he snarled. "You think that killing our friends and torturing her is going to make us feel sorry for ourselves!? Lucina hasn't done anything to you!"

The dragon loomed closer towards the group, but the Smashers continued to hold their ground. Up above, a swirling vortex began to form in the clouds, hovering over the mansion as lightning and thunder clapped within it.

"_You are correct_," said the dragon calmly. "_This girl is merely a victim of circumstance. Hers is the only way in which I can be free_."

A victim of circumstance? And all this time Falcon just thought Grima was trying to get revenge on her for some tussle they had a long time ago! Just when he thought he was beginning to get the hang of things, life had to throw yet another curveball in his face.

"Tell us then," demanded Ike as he took a step beside Falcon. "If you do not have anything against Lucina personally, then what purpose do you have in terrorizing her?"

"_The girl is a vessel; nothing more, nothing less. In order to regain my power, I required a host with a mind that is willing to freely allow me entrance to their body. Before her, I possessed a being far greater than any normal human. You all recognize him as the one known as… Master Hand_."

The Smashers almost couldn't believe what they were hearing, but it did make some sort of sense. They were all aware about Master Hand's unusual behaviour this past week, from suddenly suspending the tourney to returning Lucina's sword to her after trying so hard to take it away in the beginning. However, Lucina had only begun having the nightmares less than seven days ago, which meant that Grima would have had to use Master Hand some time before then.

"That can't be true," replied Shulk, Monado in hand. "Lucina would never simply 'allow' you to possess her. You forced yourself into her mind on your own!"

"_That is where you are wrong_." Grima hovered closer to the Smashers, floating roughly a Battlefield's length away from their position. "_Under normal circumstances, there is not one member within the so-called 'Super Smash Brothers' that would grant me passage to their psyche. Even Master Hand became aware of this, and was temporarily able to banish me from his conscious_." (Yet another secret that the big H had been keeping from the Smashers.) "_With nowhere left to go, I simply waited patiently for a new host to turn up; one whose mind was corrupted by darkness and fear. That is when I found her_…"

Lucina continued to stare fearfully into space, muttering words under her breath while holding herself. Falcon glanced down at her before coming to a horrifying realization. His gaze met with that of Ike's, who bore a similarly distressed look.

"No way…" he said in disbelief.

"You mean…" muttered Ike.

Approximately six days ago, Captain Falcon, Ike, Lucina, and their friend Pikachu had sat down one Friday night in the living room of the mansion to watch a movie. Falcon was persistent in showcasing a classic Horror film for fun. Lucina stated during the gathering that she had never seen a Horror movie before, and frankly, she didn't know what to expect. Despite Falcon's descriptions and Ike's indifference to anything fiction-related, Lucina was still ill-prepared for the fearful experience than became her Friday evening. She stayed up the whole night and watched the movie, unlike her friends who simply fell asleep partway through. It was at that time when she was the most vulnerable, and having her mind distracted by so many doubtful thoughts and tragic fears was more or less unrolling the welcome mat for Grima to come in.

That was also the same night when she had her first nightmare, which exponentially grew worse with each passing night. Her friends didn't want to believe her, but after so many horrifying experiences, it wasn't until the sixth night when the Smashers actually tried banding together to save her from her predicament. Although it wasn't confirmed, Ike had a hunch that their stubbornness to assist Lucina when she needed it most was the reason why the Swarm began showing up, consuming the others left right and center. It was all a setup from the beginning; a setup that Falcon had inadvertently created on his own.

"_She was confused, distressed, and alone_," continued Grima. More lightning began to crackle overhead. "_Her friends refused to believe her, and that's ultimately what led to her downfall_." The Fell Dragon chuckled. "_Maybe next time you'll be more considerate for those around you… Not that it matters now since you're all going to die anyway_."

Falcon didn't even look at the dragon, but instead continued to stare at the girl on the ground with more sympathy in his eyes than he's ever had for anyone before. As much as he didn't want to believe it, it was the only way he could comprehend it: Lucina's nightmares, her pain, the death of his friends; all of this was his fault. If he hadn't shown her that stupid movie in the first place then none of this would have happened!

"Lucina…" he said quietly. "I'm…" He could barely bring the words to describe how guilty he felt. "I'm sorry."

Lucina refused to acknowledge the F-Zero racer's presence. Was she beyond saving at this point?

"You can apologize later," said Ike, putting a hand on Falcon's shoulder. "We have other things to worry about right now."

Anyone could always count on Ike to stay focused on the important objectives. He was right; as long as Grima was alive, Lucina was still in danger. It looked like they were going to have to scratch their original plan of distracting the dragon.

"So what happens after that?" asked Shulk with a grimace. "What happens after Lucina loses her mind?"

Grima chuckled again.

"_When the girl is fully consumed, then this realm with cease to exist_," replied the Fell Dragon. "_I will be able to break free from my bonds and lay waste to the world that you cherish so much. It's the least I could do to repay you and your leader for what you did to me_."

That last statement left Shulk and even the other two Smashers kind of puzzled. Was Grima implying that he knew them from some other event in the past?

"I don't care who you are or what you're fighting for," muttered Falcon as he turned to face the enemy. "If you think we're gonna let you walk out of here with your head still attached to your neck then you've got another thing coming!"

"Lucina's burden is one that we bear equally," said Ike, hoisting his blade up high. "We shall avenge the deaths of our comrades here and now."

"_Not even the gods will be able to hear you scream_," replied Grima calmly. "_Let this be the final battle; a little bloodshed will be good before my resurrection_." The dragon spread its wings and let out a tremendous roar. The Smashers had no choice but to crouch as they withstood the force of the wind.

This was it. This was the final stand. The Smash Brothers had been reduced to little more than a handful of warriors, but even in the face of danger their eyes still burned with the passion for what they believed in. They were fighters, and there wasn't a single being in the universe who could take that away from them.

Shulk activated his Monado, holding it up so that the light of the blade could be seen shining in the darkness of the vortex.

"For our home," he said, turning to his companions.

Ike nodded his head, grasping his sword with both hands. His heart was racing with anticipation, but as always he tried to remain calm. He always preferred playing the cool guy anyway.

"For our friends," he joined in, sparing a glance at Falcon who ended up turning his guilty frown into a smirk of determination. Lucina may have been on the brink of death, but chances are that kicking Grima's ass would bring her back to life. That's how it was supposed to work right?

Casually, Falcon gave a thumbs-up before leaning forward with his sights set on his destiny.

"For Lucina."

The Smashers sped off, charging at the menacing beast as Grima reeled back to spray them with a molten blast of dark flames. Lucina remained idly behind, watching the battle unfold like an innocent child. She could barely comprehend what was going on, but for some reason, that man in the blue racing uniform seemed familiar to her.

She couldn't quite remember where exactly, but the stranger's voice sounded a lot like something she had heard a long time ago in a dream.

* * *

Meanwhile…

* * *

Robin kicked a small pebble across the room from his seat as he waited patiently for something good to come out of the mission that the others had gone off on. He found himself constantly glancing back at his friends, especially Mewtwo who was pretty much the bridge that Ike, Falcon, and Shulk were standing on while tapped into Lucina's dream. Honestly the very concept itself was pretty abstract to him, but he felt like his job was much easier than whatever adventure those guys were setting off on.

There was a reason why he was so hesitant to join them on the rescue mission.

It was a secret that he usually kept to himself. As a matter of fact, Lucina was the only other Smasher who knew about it, but it wasn't like it was a big deal anyway. Well, it certainly mattered now more than any other time during the tournament, but the young mage just didn't have the heart to tell the others, especially Falcon who took every opportunity he could to make fun of him.

Truth be told, Robin was afraid of Grima. Well, that may have been a bit of an understatement since there really wasn't anyone in the mansion who was particularly fond of the Fell Dragon. Both he and Grima had run into each other several times in the past (in more ways than he would like to admit). He just couldn't bear to endure it again, and he truly felt miserable for the position Lucina was in considering she was the one who had to face him by herself now. He just kept having flashbacks to that night in the dream world when he and Lucina were in Ylisstol. Standing there before the dark dragon in all its might, it really was the last place in the world he wanted to be. Although, when he did encounter Grima in Lucina's dream, there was one unusual thing he noticed about the dragon.

Grima didn't seem to care about him.

Well, this certainly was good news, but not something that he would have expected given their history. Grima was more interested in Lucina from the very beginning, which was weird to Robin considering how minor of a part Lucina played in bringing about his initial destruction. It was like the demon had taken on a different personality altogether…

Robin got up and began pacing back and forth, trying to place together the last pieces of this ridiculous puzzle. As of right now, the only thing he knew was that Grima was the one creating Lucina's nightmares, along with the Swarm that attacked the mansion earlier. He still wasn't sure how Master Hand fit into all of this, or why the dragon would infest Lucina's mind in the first place. The two would have had to meet at some point in the past, but other than Ylisse, there was no other common ground that they shared.

"_Unless Master Hand could somehow fill that gap_…" thought the tactician. "_No wait, that doesn't make any sense. How would Master Hand know about Grima?_"

Grima shouldn't even be a problem anyway since he was supposed to be _dead_. There wasn't anything in his realm that he knew of that could bring Grima back. It was almost like someone was trying to play some kind of sinister joke on him.

But what if that were actually the case?

What if the Grima in Lucina's dreams wasn't the fabled Fell Dragon, but instead an entirely different being in disguise? Is that not how her fears were able to take on a physical form in the first place?

"_Wait a second_…" Robin stopped pacing and closed his eyes. "_If the real Grima is still dead, then who could the one in Lucina's dreams be?_"

Whoever it was, chances are that Master Hand was connected to it somehow.

And that was the missing piece of the puzzle.

"_Master Hand isn't dead. He's here, and he's inside of Lucina's dream! Grima is actually_-"

His train of thought was cut off at the sound of the lift reactivating. The tactician turned his attention towards the elevator as he heard the metal platform making its way to the basement level. This took him by surprise nevertheless, since before now he was under the impression that none of the other Smashers had survived the attack of the Swarm. Without his friends to back him up, it looked like Robin was going to have to face this new arrival on his own.

As the lift began to pick up speed, Robin braced himself for anything, somewhat expecting another faceless monster to jump out and attack him. Who arrived instead, was something that the mage wouldn't have expected in a million years.

The newcomer stared at the tactician for quite some time before hovering off the platform and onto the ground.

"Greetings, Robin," said the robotic voice as the Smasher approached the mage's position. "I was expecting to find you here."

Robin almost didn't know what to say, but he did end up lowering his guard. R.O.B. the robot stopped a few feet away from him, continuing to stare at him with the utmost blankest of stares. Nothing new, really.

"R.O.B.?" said Robin in confusion. "How did you make it down here?"

"I already knew about the lift," replied the robot monotonously. "I have direct orders from Master Hand to contact the following Smashers: Robin, Captain Falcon, Ike, Shulk, and… Mewtwo." The robot's gaze shifted from one sleeping person to the next behind Robin.

"Master Hand?" said Robin in surprise. "You know where Master Hand is?"

"Negative." R.O.B. remained perfectly still, holding out his arms like they were being held by some sort of invisible sling. "He left a message for me and requested that I was not to open it until approximately 10:00 today."

"But I don't understand." Robin had a puzzled look on his face. "How did you make it past the Swarm?"

"I have direct orders from Master Hand to contact the following Smashers: Robin, Captain Falcon, Ike, Shulk, and Mewtwo."

Robin shook his head. Was the robot starting to malfunction now? That certainly was pretty out of character for R.O.B., but any news from Master Hand was better than no news at all. Robin decided to ignore the Smasher's repeated statement.

"Fine, whatever," he said. "You found me at least. What is Master Hand's message?"

R.O.B. hesitated momentarily, which only ended up being a few more seconds of empty staring.

"I do not bring a message," replied R.O.B. calmly. "I have come to terminate the remaining members of the Super Smash Brothers. Robin, Captain Falcon, Ike, Shulk, Mewtwo. You have all been terminated."

The next thing Robin knew, a large spinning Gyro blade came zooming towards him. The blade collided with his chest, the razor sharp teeth sinking into his body and knocking him right off his feet.

It was at that moment when he realized that Master Hand really had betrayed them.


	31. The Final Encounter (Part 2)

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** If you've been saving up that boss music for an epic chapter, now is the time to use it. Also, this chapter is going to be huge since I originally planned to have the Final Encounter span the course of three chapters, but no one likes three-part specials anyways. Thus, parts 2 and 3 have been combined (into a 10,000 word chapter, lucky you). Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 31: The Final Encounter (Part 2)

* * *

Robin pulled himself to his feet, yanking the circular blade out of his chest and tossing it aside. Apparently, the Gyro had missed his vitals completely and merely punctured one of the tomes he kept hidden within his inside pocket. The Elwind tome had been severely damaged, rendering it completely useless, but it was a small price to pay for what potentially could have been a gruesome death on his part.

"Explain yourself!" shouted Robin as he drew his sword, aiming the jagged edge of the blade at the other Smasher.

R.O.B. remained stationary, shifting his arms up and down without putting any thought into it. He did not anticipate his surprise attack to fail so suddenly. It looked like he was going to have to find another way to deal with this pest…

"I have my orders from Master Hand and that is all," replied R.O.B. calmly. "You are all to be terminated from the Super Smash Brothers."

It seemed as though the Smashers had misinterpreted the true meaning of that sinister word, "terminated." Master Hand did not only plan for the Smashers to be removed from the company, but to be outright killed altogether.

"So Master Hand really did put you up to this task," said Robin, gritting his teeth. "And all this time I thought you were one of us."

"I am." R.O.B. continued to stare blankly. "But I cannot disobey Master Hand's rule."

As sad as it was, R.O.B. was indeed telling the truth. He was a friend to everyone, or, at least a friend to the point where he would stay out of everyone's way so long as they stayed out of his. His ultimate weakness, however, turned out to be the very being who created him. He could not love. He could not hate. He only knew how to follow orders, as described by the artificial intelligence that processed within his "brain." If Master Hand told him to fetch a cookie from the cookie jar, R.O.B. would do it without a moment's hesitation. The word of the hand had this overriding power that not even he had any control over.

"Why does Master Hand want us dead?" asked Robin, maintaining a strong glare. "Tell me, there has to be a reason why."

"Master Hand gave no explanation," replied the robot.

Unfortunately, Robin had a feeling that what R.O.B. was telling him was actually the truth. He pretty much knew this based on the fact that R.O.B. couldn't lie, or not unless he was given specific instructions to at least.

"Be that as it may, it's a shame that despite how intelligent you are, you lack common sense," said Robin. "You really are nothing more than a robot." He smirked. "No matter. I refuse to let you proceed any further. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you're going to get."

"Resist all you want," replied R.O.B. "In the end, you are merely postponing the inevitable."

Robin glanced back at the sleeping Smashers once more. They were still out cold, and there was no way in hell he could ask Mewtwo for support at a time like this. His only hope of survival was to keep the battle as far away from them as possible, meaning that he was going to have to get used to fighting in close quarters. He didn't even think about charging an Elthunder tome.

He ran full force at the enemy, raising his weapon before swinging it down on R.O.B.'s robotic head. R.O.B. was able to react on time and catch the blade of the Levin Sword with his metallic claw, locking Robin on the spot for much longer than the mage would have liked to admit. The robot retaliated with his Arm Rotor, spinning Robin about at incredible speeds before launching him into another open area of the cave. Robin landed hard, but he didn't even have time to react before he was met face to face with a fully charged Robo Beam.

* * *

"Monado Buster!" shouted Shulk, leaping up high and slashing at the horned head of Grima. He landed on his feet only to realize that the Fell Dragon barely even flinched from the attack. Shulk was blown away by a whipping tail, his position replaced by Ike who followed through with an Aether. Even with the power of their legendary swords, it seemed like Grima's scales were barely penetrable.

The chaotic battle on the roof raged on, and it was quite the uphill struggle for the Smashers. Thankfully, Shulk's visions gave them a bit of an upper hand, for every time he detected Grima unleashing a hard attack like a flame blast, he would quickly warn his comrades about the oncoming assault. He was able to cast Monado Speed and Shield on the group if the situation was proving to be too deadly, but Falcon barely took a notice of it as he kept leaping into the air trying to sweetspot his trademark Knee of Justice.

"We can't even put a dent in this thing," said Ike as he landed on his feet. Falcon skidded to a halt right next to him before charging back at the monster.

"Just keep hitting it!" shouted Falcon, slamming Grima's side with a powerful Raptor Boost. His efforts were in vain, however, since Grima was able to deflect his attack with some sort of spin maneuver.

"_The strength of the Super Smash Brothers_," taunted the Fell Dragon menacingly. "_I have never witnessed anything more pathetic_."

"Keep up the pressure!" exclaimed Shulk, dodging just as a sharp wing came zooming over his head.

"What does it look like I'm doing!?" shouted Falcon in irritation. He began throwing out a bunch of rapid jabs, followed by a finisher punch. Despite the fact that Grima towered over him, any damage was better than none, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to land a critical hit unless he could somehow reach his head.

The group dodged another wave of flames thanks to Monado Speed, which is just what they needed in order to gain the upper hand. Ike and Falcon kept darting back and forth, avoiding lunge after lunge, while Shulk snuck around the back and skewered the dragon's hide with a Backslash. Grima responded with a whirling slam, to which Shulk's only response was using Monado Jump to leap high into the sky, landing a powerful air attack on the head of the monster.

Grima shook his head in a daze, giving the heroes just enough time to regroup at the front.

"Now's perfect for a Chain Attack!" exclaimed Shulk.

Falcon and Ike just stared at him in confusion.

"What the hell's a Chain Attack?" asked Falcon.

"Just follow my lead!" Falcon was about to say something in protest, but was interrupted by Grima who let out a tremendous roar. Shulk dashed towards the enemy, kicking off the ground with a driving Monado uppercut. "Air Slash!"

Surprisingly, the force of the attack was great enough to startle Grima and knock him back a few feet. Ike ran up to his partner and leapt into the air.

"I think I got it," he said. He dashed at high speed in midair, performing a Quick Draw and slamming Grima's front with a full body blow from his Ragnell. The Fell Dragon screeched in pain before toppling to the ground. "Now Falcon!"

"Right!" Falcon sprinted towards the enemy, jumping and charging up his signature move. "It's time to get reacquainted! Falcon PAWNCH!"

Falcon's fist exploded into a brilliant flaming falcon upon contact with Grima's face, knocking the Fell Dragon into a daze as stars began to flutter around his head. The next few seconds following this became something reminiscent of classic beat 'em up video games as Falcon, Shulk, and Ike went all out on the fiend, hacking, slashing, and beating down on the crippled enemy. Shulk constantly began shouting words of encouragement again (along with remarks about him "feeling" something), but Falcon was actually kind of finding it distracting.

Grima whipped his wings out, knocking the Smashers back as he lifted himself into the air. He didn't look amused in the slightest.

"_You'll pay for that_," he snarled.

"We're just getting started!" replied Shulk confidently.

The fight broke out again, but the sound of swords clashing and Falcon Kicks connecting was barely audible by Lucina, who continued to stare at the battle taking place before her. She was shivering, her body temperature dropping dangerously low, and she didn't quite understand why. She found herself unable to speak, images of her mutilated friends flashing through her mind while their bloodcurdling screams hammered on her eardrums.

Her friends, her father, her beloved kingdom; all of them were gone. She had been brainwashed by Grima, her mind now filled with the guilt of abandoning those whom she loved so dearly. She couldn't protect them. Heck, she couldn't even protect herself! She was beginning to lose control, her thoughts nothing more than a bombardment of questions that challenged everything she knew and believed up until this point.

"_I can't bear to see them like this any longer. Just let it end._"

She wanted to surrender herself to the darkness. This wasn't something she was normally prepared to do—not unless someone's life was on the line. There was nothing to throw away at this point though. All she had was herself, and she knew that wouldn't be enough to save everyone.

After all, her friends died while she was busy sleeping.

Lucina could feel an intrusive presence in her mind, like a stranger trying to break in through the front door of her own home. She was afraid, and found herself hiding in the corner while the constant banging echoed through the chambers of her inner psyche. She screamed and kicked, but it didn't matter when the door finally broke in, revealing a sinister shadow that sprung on her like a hungry leopard. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were, back when she could talk to Robin and Shulk about anything in the world, and the only thing she had to worry about was when her next match in the tournament was going to be. Now, all those memories were packed tightly away and locked in a box, the key tossed into an abyss never to be recovered again.

The girl everyone once knew as Lucina was no more.

* * *

"Arcfire!"

A blast of heat enveloped R.O.B. the robot, but the metallic Smasher walked it off like it was nothing. He rammed right into Robin with arms flailing, knocking him against the wall. Robin barely had any time to react as another claw came zipping at his face, ducking just in time as R.O.B. took a huge chunk out of the stone. A quick Smash Attack was able to push the robotic Smasher off of him, but Robin found himself stumbling to his knee briefly before holding himself upright again.

"You are beginning to falter," said R.O.B. plainly, noticing Robin's multiple burn marks across his neck.

Robin wiped the blood off of his bruised face, squinting slightly at the pain. Half of his robe had been completely singed by one of R.O.B.'s lasers, even nicking him along the shoulder. It wasn't severe, but it sure did sting like hell. He had no idea the robot was so dangerous despite the fact that he didn't even require a weapon to fight.

"You're not looking too good yourself," replied Robin.

R.O.B. was actually in better condition than the mage, but it really wasn't saying much. The robot was mostly immune to fire attacks, and the only thing that seemed to be doing any damage were the physical hits. Some of R.O.B.'s framework had been dented and charred, and one of his arms appeared to be bent a little too far to the left.

"Terminating the others will be easier once you are out of the way," said R.O.B.

"We'll see about that."

Truth be told, Robin didn't care at all who was going to come out on top in this fight. All he was trying to do was buy his friends enough time for them to save Lucina. Once everyone was awake, dealing with R.O.B. wouldn't be a big problem at all, and at that point they probably had a chance at interrogating the robot in order to locate Master Hand.

R.O.B. dashed at the tactician again, this time opting to go for a grab. The two ended up grappling with each other, the robot's claws latching onto Robin's sword as opposed to his head like he was intending. They were locked in that position for quite some time, the grimacing face of Robin staring into the cold lifeless eyes of his enemy.

"Surrender," said R.O.B. He began forcefully pushing downwards against Robin's blade.

Robin could feel his legs starting to give away, the weight of the other Smasher proving to be a bit much for him. He wasn't used to fighting in close combat like this all the time, let alone with a killer robot. He never really took the time to analyze R.O.B.'s move-set or his battle strategies during his time at the tournament since he rarely ever fought him in the first place. This was truly a brawl he had come ill-prepared for and it was really starting to show since he could not think of any glaring weaknesses that the robot had.

Normally, when it came to tourney matches, the easiest way to overcome an opponent was to exploit a deducible weakness. Some of these weaknesses were common among fighters with similar characteristics. For example, Bowser and Donkey Kong, although dominant when it came to brute strength, were prone to quick attacks wielded by speedier characters such as Sonic and Pikachu. Characters like Little Mac who lacked any kind of weapon or projectile were usually outranged by sharpshooters like Fox and Samus. The hardest matches to overcome were typically against those who didn't have any outstanding strengths or weaknesses, such as Mario, Pit, and Toon Link, who all had the necessary tools at their disposal to handle any given situation. R.O.B. was another one of these all-round fighters, and it seemed that no matter what kind of strategy Robin fell back on, the robot would have a counter, or at least some sort of plan in order to deal with the change in pace.

As for Robin's weakness, well, he was already well aware of it. He was one of the few sword wielders in the roster who did not prefer fighting up close and personal. Given the vast array of magical tomes at his disposal, fighting from a distance was always his preferred way of handling bad guys, and it at least proved to be successful during his time with the Shepherds. Now he was caught between a rock and a hard place, his strength proving to be vastly inferior to that of R.O.B.

Just as his arms were about to collapse, a sudden movement from the other side of the room caught his eye. Both characters immediately turned their heads to see Lucina sit up from her position on the stretcher. Robin quickly broke away from R.O.B. while he was distracted, jumping back a few steps, but the robot didn't seem to care as his eyes were fixated on Lucina. Slowly, she got out of bed and began approaching the other Smashers. Her movements were mechanical, and the expression on her face was about as blank as R.O.B.'s was.

"Lucina…" said Robin in confusion. "You're awake?"

This didn't make any sense. If Lucina was awake, then where the heck was everyone else? They were supposed to be in her dream right now!

He noticed that Lucina's eyes were a sickly black, as if she was wearing some sort of morbid contact lens.

"Lucina?" she said, a sinister smile creeping across her face. Robin flinched at the sound of her voice as it was nothing but a mishmash of distorted finger nails on a chalkboard. The words were barely deductible, but a fraction of the girl he knew could be heard somewhere in that mess. "You wish to speak to Lucina?"

Why was she acting so strange? Was she possessed or something? Robin was originally under the impression that Falcon and the others were in the midst of freeing her from Grima's clutches. Could they have arrived too late?

"Grima…" replied Robin. He was almost in disbelief. "It can't be."

"It is," said Lucina, although she didn't looked worried in the slightest. "Lucina has been erased. She is nothing but a thought, a memory." She put her arms out, taking a deep breath of air. "It feels good to walk amongst the living once again."

Robin gritted his teeth; it looked like things had only gone from bad to worse for him. Not only was Lucina awake and apparently possessed by Grima, but the other Smashers were still sleeping. Not to mention, he still had to deal with R.O.B., but there was no way he could take on both him and Lucina at the same time.

Strangely, R.O.B. seemed to be mesmerized by her. He wasn't paying any attention to Robin at all, which was kind of odd considering they were just going at each other's throats not even a minute ago.

"By Master Hand's orders, you are to be terminated," said the R.O.B. monotonously.

Lucina unsheathed her Falchion, her evil grin reflecting in the steel of the blade. She was almost itching for a fight, or to kill something at least.

"Master Hand, huh?" she replied. "Well come on then. It's not polite to keep a lady waiting."

Robin noticed R.O.B. start to charge up a new Gyro. He almost wanted to stay out of this, but his inner nice guy kept barking at him to step in, or to at least tell the poor robot that the blue-haired woman wasn't entirely who he thought it was.

"Wait R.O.B.!" shouted Robin, but the robot didn't even give him a second glance.

The Gyro fired off, ripping towards Lucina like a buzz saw. She held her ground and deflected it easily, sending the top hurling into one of the walls. R.O.B. followed through with a Robo Beam, which Lucina was also able to dodge. She dashed towards him, avoiding another laser, while he lunged at her with his mechanical arm.

"You're barely making this interesting," muttered Lucina, disappearing in a flash and reappearing behind R.O.B.

Robin found himself without words to say as Lucina sliced R.O.B.'s head clean off his body. The head lobbed across the room without even the slightest bit of pain on its face. The rest of his body began sporadically shooting off sparks as his circuitry and hardware began to malfunction. But Lucina didn't end there, oh no, she went for his arms, his motor, basically anything she could get her hands on, tearing and cutting the poor Smasher limb from limb until he was nothing but a pile of scrap metal.

Had it not been for the metallic coloring, Robin wouldn't have even known that this creature once used to be R.O.B. the robot.

Machine or not, the sight was still sickening, and it was even creepier with the way Lucina would laugh and giggle like a lion cub sinking its teeth into its first kill. He then found himself putting his hand up to his own neck at the thought of what was going to happen to him if he didn't play this out properly.

As the last of R.O.B.'s motherboard shattered under her boot, Lucina let out a tremendous laugh, which did not sound human in the slightest.

"It was satisfying!" she exclaimed, kicking a metallic limb across the ground. "And there is no blood to dirty my clothes. I do, however, miss the sound of crushing bones with my bare fists."

Her gaze soon fell to Robin, who found himself shaking in his tactician boots. His blood ran cold as he saw Lucina lift her blade and lick it like some kind of sick and twisted serial killer. He almost dropped his sword he was freaking out so much.

"L-Lucina, listen," he said as strongly as he could. "I know you're in there somewhere. Don't let that monster use you like this!"

She laughed again, her black eyes shooting darts at the mage and practically pinning him to the wall.

"Oh, what a world," she replied playfully. "I'm going to have a lot of fun killing you." She was more or less ignoring Robin's pleas at this point, but who knew if this "she" was even Lucina anymore. "Tell you what. I'll give you... seven seconds to run for your life. After that, I'll cut off one arm and one leg. And then I'll give you a chance to fight back before I skewer your face. How does that sound?"

Was she being serious right now? Or wait, no, that wasn't actually Lucina speaking.

Whatever the case, Robin knew that the only way out of this was to wake Lucina up from her nightmare, or make her come back to life, or fix whatever the hell was wrong with her that was making her act like this. He wasn't about to fight this creature, especially not after witnessing what it was capable of firsthand.

"Lucina! It's me, Robin!" cried Robin in desperation. "Don't you remember me?"

"One," replied Lucina. She turned to the side and closed her eyes as if this was some sort of twisted game of Hide and Seek.

"Your best friend! We traveled Ylisse together! We fought in the tournament together!"

"Two."

"And your father, Chrom!" Robin could feel his voice trembling, but still he persisted. His thought process was that if he could bring enough of her memories back to the surface, then he would have at least some chance of reaching through to her. "You love him more than anything else in the world! You have to remember him!"

"Three."

"And what about Falcon and Ike? And Shulk and Meta Knight and Marth and all the others!? Don't they mean anything to you!?"

"Four." Lucina's smile widened with glee at the thought of chopping this young man where he now stood.

Robin paused, his breaths becoming short and forced. He couldn't do it. Nothing he was saying seemed to be working. In fact, it probably made things worse and it only showed how helpless he truly was, having nothing more than mere words to defend himself against his executioner. He never thought that he would die at the hands of Lucina, let alone a brainwashed version of her.

"Five."

"Lucina," said Robin helplessly, his heart pounding faster and louder than he could ever recall before. "Please."

"Six."

"Don't do it."

Lucina raised her blade, but her back was still turned. She appeared to hesitate for a moment, but Robin couldn't tell if that was actually her or someone else taking control. She was like a puppet now, a useless marionette whose only purpose was to do the bidding of its master. The sight alone almost brought him to tears. He wasn't sure if Lucina was really gone for good, but in any case, he was going to die. And the other Smashers would soon follow after this.

Just when he thought he had a chance at getting through to her, he saw Lucina strike a glance towards him. The look in her eye was a black as the Swarm, and she looked unusually happy to see him.

"Seven."

* * *

Falcon was knocked flat on his back as he skidded and tumbled across the roof, scraping his arms in the process. His F-Zero racing uniform wasn't exactly the best thing to wear to a battle against a dragon, but his comrades apparently weren't doing any better.

Ike leaped up, coming down with another Aether, but the attack didn't even get to finish before he was slammed out of it mid-swing.

"Dammit, this guy is tough," muttered Falcon, coughing up a wad of spit on the ground.

He looked up to see Shulk going for an Air Slash, which was also interrupted by a low-flying wing. He was hurled into the ground from the force of the attack, a sharp cry of pain leaving his lungs as he rolled over on his side, the Monado leaving his hands.

"Argh, my leg!" he cried.

Falcon quickly swooped to his side, pulling him upright.

"Shulk, you okay?" asked Falcon.

Shulk still had his arms wrapped around his lower leg, squeezing it tightly as he winced in pain.

"I think I sprained my ankle," he choked.

Falcon cursed internally. They were already having a hard enough time dealing with Grima as it was, and crippling their numbers like this was only going to make matters even more difficult. Still, they didn't have time for these kind of setbacks, and Falcon planned on winning this fight no matter the cost.

"Can you stand?" he asked, offering Shulk a hand.

"I think so," replied Shulk, although when he tried to get up, he found himself limping. He could at least balance himself on one foot for the time being. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," replied Falcon as he reached down to pick up the Monado.

"Hey, don't touch that!"

Falcon froze on the spot, while Shulk hobbled over and picked up his sword on his own.

"But why?"

"Trust me, I'll explain later."

"Um… Okay then."

Ike landed on his back in front of his friends before rolling back up onto his feet.

"You guys alright?" he asked.

"Shulk sprained his ankle," replied Falcon.

"Seriously?"

"I'll be fine," said Shulk reassuringly. "Just keep-"

"_I've tried my patience with you fools, but now you're turning out to be a bigger thorn in my side than I initially thought_," said Grima, looming over the Smashers like a storm cloud.

"You could always surrender you know!" replied Falcon, maintaining his headstrong attitude as if to throw the creature off.

"_I have no need to. Not when I have already won._"

At that moment, Lucina got up from her spot. She was looking at the ground and appeared to be slouching as if someone had attached invisible wires to her shoulders.

The other Smashers almost didn't know how to react.

"Lucina?" said Falcon.

Her eyes met theirs, and they saw in horror that they were a sickly black. It was almost like her eyeballs had been completely removed from their sockets! She looked pretty pissed as she continued to stare at her friends, almost as if they were complete strangers to her.

"_She is mine now_," said Grima calmly. "_And she would be more than happy to deliver you all to your deaths by her own sword. Isn't that right… Lucina?_"

Lucina nodded her head, unsheathing her Falchion, at which point Falcon almost lost his balance.

"H-Hey wait a second!" he cried. "We're not the bad guys here! He is!"

"It's no use," replied Ike, stepping in front of his friend. "Lucina is being controlled by Grima."

"_That is correct_," said the Fell Dragon with a laugh. "_But can she fight her friends?_"

Lucina swung her sword about, beckoning for one of the Smashers to challenge her. Actually, she would have been perfectly fine if they decided to take her on three versus one. Heck, she probably would be fine if they had the entire Smash Brothers fight her right here and now. She wasn't feeling herself, but what she lacked in personality she made up for in sheer power.

"You can't be serious," muttered Shulk. "We can't fight her!"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," replied Ike. He began walking towards Lucina's position at the center of the mansion's roof.

Another vision overcame Shulk, this time pertaining to a gruesome event that was certainly bound to occur. In it, he could see himself, Ike, and even Captain Falcon lying on the ground and bleeding in pain. He could see Lucina's sinister face as she drove her sword into Falcon's chest. The vision was quick, barely even lasting a few seconds, but it was more than enough information to tell him that they were walking right to their deaths.

"Ike, stop!" shouted Shulk. "There has to be another way!"

He turned to face them, but he didn't notice Lucina sprinting at him, sword in hand. She reeled back, preparing to drive the blade right through Ike's back.

"Look out!" cried Falcon.

Ike whirled around, blocking Lucina's strike with a perfect Counter and deflecting the shot back at her. She barely flinched from the attack, however, and continued slicing through the mercenary like a chainsaw. Her sword swings were bullet-fast and definitely not normal by her own standards as Ike could barely keep track of where she was going. Given his slow mobility, he had a hard time blocking and retaliating from the assault as their swords clashed. Even with his armor, however, he might as well have been a Sandbag since every other attack became a direct hit. He cried out in pain as the thin steel cut him along the chest, knocking him back a bit, but Lucina didn't let up. She darted around, slashing his arm, lower legs, even his back. His cape had been cut to ribbons in a matter of seconds, and before Falcon or Shulk could even say or do anything, Ike had already fallen. He collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood slowly seeping out from under his body as he laid as motionless as a corpse.

"Ike!" cried Falcon and Shulk.

Lucina lifted her blade, preparing to drive it through the skull of the wounded Smasher. His eyes just stared into her lifeless ones, silently praying she would stop with this relentless assault. Just as she was about to do the deed, Captain Falcon swooped in with a Falcon Kick, knocking her out of the way and saving Ike's life.

"Falcon…" coughed Ike, spitting some blood out in the process.

"Hey, take it easy," replied Falcon. "You're going to be alright, you hear me?"

Lucina charged at the racer, this time preparing to deliver a fatal blow, but the attack was intercept by Shulk who stepped in just in time with the Monado. As soon as the swords connected, however, he lost his balance due to his ankle and began stumbling backwards before falling on the ground.

"Ow!" he cried. "That's gonna leave a mark…"

"Shulk!" shouted Falcon.

But it was too late. By the time Shulk was able to comprehend what was going, Lucina had already jumped on him, tearing him to shreds like some kind of wild dog. She lifted him up by his collar before tossing him a few feet near the roof's edge, where she then slashed at his torso with a deep cut. The Monado fell from his hands as he grabbed his stomach, holding onto whatever life he had left as blood and flesh splattered the ground.

Falcon clenched his fists in pure rage. He wasn't about to let his friends die like this! Especially not when they were so close! Ike reached out and grabbed his ankle, looking up at him through a bloodstained face.

"Get… out of here," was all he could say before collapsing. The grip on Falcon's leg eased up, and Ike was out cold.

The F-Zero racer glanced at Grima, who was still floating nearby menacingly as these scenes unfolded. It seemed that he was perfectly fine with letting Lucina do all the dirty work for him. Well, it was probably going to be easier to rescue Lucina now that she was standing on her feet.

The question was, how?

"Lucina!" shouted Falcon, storming towards the girl. Lucina pulled her sword out of Shulk's body, the boy now holding himself in a ball, quivering at the mere touch as he bled all over. Lucina glared at the racer, her dark and petrifying gaze becoming something right out of a Horror movie. With her sword still dripping blood, she approached Captain Falcon with an angered look in her eyes.

"_One by one they fall_," said Grima from the side. "_This battle was over long before it even began_."

"Can it you overgrown slug," replied Falcon as he kept his eyes focused on Lucina. "This is between me and her."

The Smashers stopped a few feet away from each other. As the swirling vortex overhead crackled with thunder, Falcon could feel an eager tension building up in his stomach. He wanted to save Lucina more than anything in the world, but he was afraid that saving her might also be the equivalent of killing her. Would killing her even free her from the torment of Grima? In any case, there was no point in reasoning with the monster. No, he couldn't simply talk himself out of this; he had to talk to her.

"Lucina," said Falcon with a smile. "It's me. Your ol' buddy Captain Falcon, remember?"

She didn't respond, but continued to stare at the strange man in the red helmet. He was barely familiar. All she saw was another target, another vessel of nothing but flesh and bone.

"_Try as you might_," said Grima in response, "_your efforts will forever be meaningless. You are speaking to a puppet_."

"I'm no stranger, Lucina!" continued Falcon, ignoring the Fell Dragon's comments. "You know me so well! And heck, I know a lot about you too!" Falcon put his hand up, but not in a fist. Instead, he began counting off a bunch of facts he knew about her on his fingers. "You're a princess, Lucina! You have a dad who cares about you a lot, and you have a lot of friends who love to hang around you! You don't like showing up to parties, and you'd rather spend your free time reading a book or practicing in the training room. You never get jokes because you take things too seriously." He paused for a moment. "Hey, it's funny you know? You and I are kind of the opposite like that."

She didn't seem fazed at all by his comments as she took a step towards him, holding her sword up and preparing to drive it through his chest. The look in her eyes still resembled that of the night, but Falcon thought he saw someone he knew in there somewhere, like a sparkle of light trying to make its way out of the darkness.

At this point, he wasn't sure exactly where he was going with this. All he knew was that there was something he had that could trigger her memories. He just had to keep throwing things at her and hope that one of them connected.

"You joined the Super Smash Brothers this year with the rest of the newcomers!" said Falcon quickly. "You and I hang out sometimes on Friday nights to watch movies and shoot the shit. We don't talk about much, but hey, that's something right? And what about Robin? He's your friend too, isn't he? Heck, even Ike and Shulk are your friends! We've always been here to help you from the start! You can talk to us about anything!"

Falcon put his arms up, as if he was going to surrender. Lucina took another step in his direction, this time the tip of her blade pressing up against the center of his chest. Falcon refused to show any sign of fear as he remained as frozen as a statue (he was practically shitting himself). Her eyes were still locked on his, but not once did he try to break away.

With all of his strongest cards already played, Falcon was running out of options. The only thing he really had left for her was the things that he had been keeping to himself this whole time. He wasn't even sure if he was prepared to go that far, but it was worth a shot wasn't it?

He took a deep breath and gave a small sigh.

"We've come a long way, you and I," he said calmly. "And hey, even if this is how the story has to end for the both of us, I won't be upset." He smiled. "I'm just glad that I could spend it with you."

She noticed a single tear crawl out from under the lens of his helmet, dripping down his oily cheek and falling off the crest of his chin. Lucina froze, a part of her wishing she could remember where she had seen this man's face before. The things he was talking about, they all sounded familiar to her. She couldn't help but feel as if she was betraying someone, but the man's next words sealed any doubts she had permanently.

"I love you, Lucina."

That was when it hit her like a ton of bricks, a wave of emotions conflicting within her mind as she tried to separate the true from the false. Her arms were shaking as she held the blade up against her beloved friend, but she couldn't control it. Falcon's words had somehow reached through to her and given her the reassurance to remove some of those fears. Unfortunately, Grima's powers could not be overridden that easily, but there was still one sign she could give to let Falcon know she heard him.

She was crying.

The tears, however, were nothing normal as instead of water, these tears were made of blood. Yes, the blood dripped from her eyes down her cheeks, leaving two ghastly lines of crimson on her face.

She really did look like a marionette now.

"_Impossible!_" said Grima. "_My power is unmatched!_"

"Apparently not," replied Falcon. "And don't get so comfortable over there because I'm comin' for _you_ next!"

Lucina was still shivering in confusion. She had a killing urge to slay this man where he stood, but something was holding her back. Whatever this force was, she didn't like it, and it was starting to make her head hurt.

Her train of thought was thrown off balance when she saw an open hand in front of her face. Falcon stood tall, letting her in with arms wide open.

"Come on, Lucina," he said. "Let's go home."

She stared at the racer's hand, still hesitant on what to do. He was still a stranger to her, and no greater a man than the other two who she previously dispatched with ease. Falcon was beginning to believe that things were actually looking up for him. If he could get Lucina to join him, then surely defeating Grima wouldn't be that hard. After all, wasn't this whole "dream world" thing supposed to be the source of his power?

It was a pretty cool thought that Lucina would turn against Grima and help put him to rest. Unfortunately for Falcon, that didn't happen at all. For the next thing he knew, Lucina had driven her sword right through his chest.

So much for friends, huh?

* * *

Robin fell to the ground, summoning a wall of fire and preventing Lucina from chasing him any further. He was bleeding profusely at the head, as well as his shoulder, which was visible since his robe had also been cut. He had spent the last few minutes trying to distract Lucina, while at the same time attempting to figure out a way in order to bring her back to normal. So far, nothing was working, since every time he tried to say something he would get shut up by another sword swing or a swift kick to the ribs.

"Lucina, you have to listen to me!" he shouted. "Don't let Grima control you! Remember who you are!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied, her facial features glowing from the heat of the Arcfire flames. "I know who I am. I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I-"

"Your mind has been tampered with!" Robin pulled himself to his feet, albeit stumbling a bit. "You have to fight it! Try to remember!"

As the flames died down, Lucina took a step towards the tactician, the same sinister grin spread across her face. Up close, Robin noticed that there were lines of blood streaming down her eyes like tears. Was she in pain?

"I want to kill you so badly right now," she replied. "If you want to save Lucina so much, then why don't you come over here and do something about it? She wouldn't care either way."

That last statement was kind of confusing to Robin. He readied a Thunder tome, preparing to stun her in case of another assault.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You love her, don't you?" replied Lucina, the sound of her voice still nothing more than the distorted noise of bolts in a blender. "You love her so much."

"What are you getting at, fiend?" Robin wasn't going to let himself be talked down by this demon. Besides, what did Grima know about his relationship with Lucina?

"She doesn't love you," she said, tilting her head slightly. "She never did. She was confused, consumed by a world where her friends refused to believe anything she said, even when she was in dire need of help. There was constant pressure in her life between her job, her family, her friends, and her past. Those precious moments you two shared in private? They meant nothing to her."

Robin felt as though a cold knife had been driven through his heart, but he did everything in his power to pull the blade out and ignore it. These words were not genuine. If anything, they were corrupted rehashes of Lucina's past memories, spewed onto him in an attempt to break his morale.

He wasn't about to fall for this old trick.

"Nice try," he said, retaining a serious expression on his face. "You may know about Lucina's past, but in the end, you're nothing more than a boogeyman hiding behind the shield of another's body."

"Remember that kiss on the rooftop?" she said slyly. "It sucked. You don't have any idea what you're doing."

Okay, and the reason why she was going there was because…?

"Shut up," replied Robin in annoyance. "I'm not going to talk about this right now. Come on Lucina, I know you're in there somewhere. Just give me a sign!"

"She can't hear you." Lucina smiled, holding her sword out towards her enemy. "Enough playing around; it's time to end this."

She pounced on Robin, but thankfully he was fully anticipating this. He threw out a quick Thunder spell, stunning his assaulter momentarily before making a break for it out of the corner he was in.

"You can run, Robin," said Lucina playfully. "But you can't hide!"

* * *

A shard of lightning lit up the bloody scene on the rooftop, showing two wounded swordsmen on the ground lying in their own cold blood. Shulk twitched as thunder clapped overhead, opening his eyes to see a couple of faint figures standing far away.

Lucina had driven her sword right through Captain Falcon. The blade of the Falchion protruded from his back, while the F-Zero racer ended up standing there in horrifying disbelief. He didn't expect Lucina to actually come up and stab him. He had thought for a moment that she was finally coming to her senses, but it was all a lie. She was still under Grima's control, and now he was beginning to regret thinking that he could ever overcome that kind of power with something as insignificant as feelings.

It didn't stop there, however, because as soon as Lucina pulled out, she lashed at him again, delivering a devastating blow to his midsection. Astoundingly, Falcon was able to maintain his balance, but it only made things worse as she was able to cut him up again, and again, and again, to the point where an upward slash could finish the job.

Falcon stumbled back, landing on the ground and staring into the infinite void up above. His helmet flew from his head, rolling a few feet across the ground before coming to a stop. He started seeing colors and flashing lights, and his heart was starting throb in his eardrums. It was getting hard to breathe now, and he was hoping that the sword hadn't punctured one of his lungs.

Not that it mattered anyway.

Lucina stood above him, the tip of her sword staring Captain Falcon down right between the eyes. He didn't even pay attention to it though and just kept facing forward. He never would have expected this to happen for at least another fifty years, but he supposed that some guys just happened to be luckier than others.

He was going to die.

He held his breath and closed his eyes, the world tumbling into a meaningless pit around him, as all of his life's promises and regrets began to fill the void in his head.

For some reason, Lucina was hesitant to deliver the final blow. Her eyes were still black, and she was still crying tears of blood, but something about this man on the ground appeared different from before. With the helmet removed, his face was beginning to resemble something she had seen a long time ago in another dream.

That face.

From the strong chin bone to the scar over the left eye, there was no doubt in her mind that this face belonged to someone she could trust. It was also the face of someone who believed in her, who cared about her. This was the face of the man who saved her from strangling herself that fateful night in the hospital wing. This was the face of the man who saved her from the Risen, placing his helmet upon her head and putting himself in danger's path so that she could live. This was also the face of the man whom she sacrificed herself for, when Ylisstol crumbled before the might of the Fell Dragon and everything went dark.

As she stood there with his life in her hands, Lucina couldn't bring herself to kill him. There was an intrusive thought in her mind that wanted her to go through with it, but she knew she couldn't do it. She just couldn't. She was on the brink of waking up from this hellish nightmare once and for all, and the only thing she needed was the right kind of alarm clock to snap her back into the realm of reality…

* * *

Robin landed on the table, shattering various chemistry supplies as he fell to the floor. He ended up biting his lip as he hit the ground, but it was a small price to pay considering all the other damage his body had endured.

He was feeling rather dizzy, but when he finally came to, he could see the maniacal Lucina approaching him, flailing her sword around like mad.

"Chop! Chop! Chop!" she sang. "Off goes your head!"

Hearing her deranged speech like this was unsettling, especially when considering the fact that Lucina was mostly a quiet and serious girl. Seeing her prance around like a child with a new toy was definitely a new face for her, but it was really starting to give him the creeps.

"I didn't want it to have to come to this, Lucina," replied Robin as he got to his feet. He spat a wad of blood on the ground. "But you leave me no other choice."

He began charging another Thunder tome, limping slightly as the pain in his leg was starting to hit him hard. Lucina continued heading towards him, but stopped when she was a mere few feet away.

"Magic has no effect on me," she said. "If you want to help me, then you're going to have to stab me. But if you do that, you might end up killing your precious little Lucina. Oh no!"

He knew all of this already. However, he was also aware that the last spell he used (a mediocre Thunder spell) was enough of a shock to stun Lucina for a few seconds. With that knowledge in mind, a more powerful electric attack may just have been what he needed in order to overcome this grueling challenge.

Lucina stood before him, barely a longsword's length away. Robin closed his tome, gripping his other hand around the Levin Sword tightly.

"Any final words before I end thee?" asked Lucina dramatically.

Robin hesitated for a moment before trying to think of something fitting to say. Surely it wouldn't hurt to take a page out of Captain Falcon's book in this kind of situation?

"Yeah, actually," replied Robin. "How about, go to Hell, and bring Lucina back?"

Lucina shook her head, but she still seemed rather amused.

"It's been fun," she said. "Now die!"

At the sound of her words, Robin let loose a surging Arcthunder, the ball of lightning colliding with the possessed girl on contact. Lucina was trapped in the field of electricity, shaking violently as the sparks electrocuted her body with power that could rival Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Fool!" she snarled. "You waste your final spell on this?"

"It's not supposed to hurt you," replied Robin. "It's supposed to hold you!"

He dashed up to her, impaling her stomach with the Levin Sword. She shrieked in pain as the steel penetrated her armor, the jagged edge stabbing right through her back. Sparks were flying all over the place, and Robin could feel the electricity from the Arcthunder connecting with his body as well, but he locked his arm in place and refused to budge. He knew this was the only chance he had at saving Lucina.

"Lucina, you have to wake up _now_!" he shouted over her screaming. "Remember who you are and don't let the darkness take you! WAKE UP!"

* * *

Lucina was struck by a sudden realization, the black spheres in her eyes now permanently erased from her face. She had blood dripping down her cheeks, but she was more aware of the fact that she was standing somewhere on the mansion's rooftop while a thunderstorm was brewing in the sky. Shulk and Ike were both lying on the ground on opposite sides of the roof, bleeding and possibly dead or dying, but it was hard to tell from her current position. Grima was hovering menacingly before her, and he did not look pleased in the slightest.

"_What!?_" he shouted. "_How could this have happened!?_"

Lucina looked down to see that she had her blade raised to the helmetless Captain Falcon. He was bleeding profusely, especially from his torso, and he appeared to be having a hard time breathing. Lucina dropped her sword, falling to her knees.

"Captain… Falcon?..." she said quietly. Falcon continued to remain still with closed eyes.

Lucina suddenly remembered everything now, from the night she was captured by Grima all the way up until this point. She had been fed countless lies this entire time, believing that she was the reason why her friends were dead in the mansion, or why Master Hand was going around terminating fighters. They were just false accusations thrown onto her, used to fuel the legendary powers of Grima the Fell Dragon. Due to being confined to the inner sanctums of Lucina's mind, he was nowhere near as powerful as he was before he was initially sealed away. This Grima was nothing more than copy, a doppelganger, a lower version of his former self that solely relied on deceit and cunning in order to obtain what he desired.

All these thoughts running through her head were more than enough to trigger Lucina's temper. She wiped the blood from her face and picked up her sword before glancing down at Falcon who still remained quiet. She promised to return for him and the others as soon as she was done with her business.

Lucina briskly approached the looming Fell Dragon, the Mark of the Exalt now burning in her eye clearer than ever before. Grima was roaring at her, demanding her to stand down or to submit, or basically anything to get her to listen to him.

"Your calls are useless, Grima," she said sternly. "I will be a slave to you no longer!"

The dragon hissed at her, somewhat confused and bewildered at how she could defy his awesome magic when he was so close to taking over her body.

"_You shall bend to my will or else you will die!_" snarled the Fell Dragon, although his threats were beginning to mean less and less the more he said them. For Lucina knew as well as he did that she was the source of his life since he had originally latched onto her mind like some sort of leech, just as the Swarm had latched onto her fellow Smashers in the mansion. Simply put, killing her would mean killing Grima.

"I do not fear you, foul beast," replied Lucina. "You may have taken over my body, but you cannot take away who I am." She swung her sword before entering her classic battle stance. "The very plane on which you now stand is of my own creation."

"_Grr…_" Grima lowered his head, realizing that she had discovered the one weakness in the nightmares. Despite how scary some dreams can be, they can ultimately be turned upside down if the dreamer can attain control of them.

"Like fate, my dreams cannot be set in stone," continued Lucina. "I have the power to change them. My friends were the ones who taught me that." She glanced over at Ike, who gave her a nod as he struggled to pull himself up into a sitting position. "Grima, your reign of terror ends here. Begone from my dreams once and for all!"

"_You may have figured out how to exploit the weakness of the nightmares, but you will never leave this realm alive!_" snarled the beast. "_If I'm going to die then I'm going to take you with me!_"

Grima reeled back before lunging at Lucina with his massive jaws. Lucina held her ground, recalling a scene similar to this from a faint memory in the back of mind. She pulled back with her sword, charging a Shield Breaker, as one thought and one thought alone cycled through her mind.

"_It's all make-believe._"

She thrust her sword forward, stabbing the dragon right through its massive snout. Grima pulled up, reeling back and screeching loudly in pain. Lucina's sword, Falchion, was apparently the trump card to Grima's scales, as it was a royal blade handed down from generation to generation. It shined a brilliant blue, the blood of her friends still staining the steel. Lucina watched contentedly as her arch enemy began to sporadically twitch and shake about in the air.

"_This cannot be!_" hollered the monster. "_I am unconquerable! I am the wings of despair! I am the breath of ruin!_"

Lucina sheathed her sword, turning her back from her foe.

"You are not real."

Grima exploded into thousands of Swarm particles, the little black creatures falling to the ground like rocks and melting into the mansion's roof. Lucina was showered with the creatures, but they slid off of her clothes like raindrops. She took a deep breath before looking up at the darkened sky.

"_It's finally over_."

The coughing fit of one of her friends snapped her back into reality, and Lucina found herself running over to Captain Falcon's side. He was still lying on the ground, but Lucina lifted his head up onto her lap. She tore off a piece of her cape and began applying pressure to his chest.

"Hang on, I got you," she said quietly, tightening the cloth on Falcon's wound.

"Boy am I happy to see you," he replied with a smirk. "I almost lost all hope for a second there." He coughed again.

"Shh, don't talk," said Lucina.

"Hey, you can't shut me up that easy." Falcon chuckled. "Are Shulk and Ike okay?"

Lucina looked over to see Ike sitting up and trying to take care of his own wounds. It was quite impressive considering he had been cut up so badly. She looked over at Shulk to see him lift up a hand and give a thumbs up. He wasn't looking very good, but hey, at least he was alive.

"I'll see to them shortly," she said. "Right now, we need to get you standing."

"Wait a second," replied Falcon. "If Grima's dead, how come we haven't woken up yet?"

In all honesty, Lucina wasn't sure how to answer that question. In all of her other nightmares, her waking up was never something that she really had control over; it was merely something that happened on its own. Whether or not it was governed by the dream world she wasn't sure, but she did find it kind of peculiar how nothing had really changed in this realm despite Grima's death.

It was almost like the real enemy hadn't been defeated yet.

"Bravo, Lucina. Bravo indeed."

That voice.

Lucina looked up, only to be met with a horrifying realization that they weren't the only ones who had wandered into this dream world.

"Huh? Who said that?" asked Falcon, straining his neck to get a better view of anything.

Hearing the voice alone was more than what they needed, but seeing him in person was an entirely different story. There at the entrance to the rooftop stood a being who all the Smashers of the Super Smash Bros. knew very well. He bobbed up and down as he approached the survivors, his large fingers rhythmically tapping in the air as if he was expecting them this whole time.


	32. Fearless

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

**Author's Note:** I want to remind everyone that there is a reason why some of the characters last chapter were able to survive so many fatal blows without dying. For example, Falcon gets shanked in the chest with Lucina's sword, which would undoubtedly kill a regular human under normal circumstances. The thing is, the Smash Bros. fighters are all trained for this sort of thing, and their bodies are physically capable of withstanding more pain and punishment compared to regular people. This is also the reason why Lucina didn't die back in chapter 5 when she faced her mirror monster, or when Robin got stabbed in the stomach in chapter 13. Their bodies are made for taking a beating, thus the Smashers have stronger physical qualities such as improved cell regeneration and enhanced bone structure. I wanted to clear this up since it's obvious that most of them shouldn't have survived last chapter after I read some of the reviews.

That aside, here's chapter 32. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 32: Fearless

* * *

Lucina almost didn't know what to say. The dream world was the last place she would have expected to see the dear leader of the Super Smash Bros., especially since she felt outright abandoned by him merely a few days ago.

Master Hand.

He appeared to be about as normal as ever, the clean white surface of his hand glaring in comparison to that of her friends' bleeding and broken bodies. Again she was at that standstill where she could not decipher what he was thinking. Judging from the way he said those last words however, he seemed to be rather impressed, something that most Smashers would be lucky to do nowadays.

"M-Master Hand?" said Lucina in surprise. She stood up, leaving Falcon to turn and twist in order to get a better view of the hand in question.

"Wait, Master Hand is here?" he asked before arching his head up.

Master Hand approached the two Smashers, not even taking a notice of Ike or Shulk. In fact, his "gaze" seemed to be focused directly on that of Lucina. She took a step back, reaching for the hilt of her blade in anticipation.

"You put on quite the show," he said casually. "I didn't expect you to stand a chance against Grima given the fact that he is the one thing in the world that you fear most of all."

Lucina lowered her guard, but gave the hand a queer look. Had he been watching her this whole time?

"You look a little confused," continued Master Hand, "so allow me to explain. Fear, doubt, deceit; these are all things that can alter the way in which one's mind perceives their environment. You yourself became a victim of this when you began attacking your friends on sight without any sign of hesitation. Your mind was clouded with falsities, and Grima took advantage of that by assuming control of your thoughts, while you curled up in the corner praying that it would all just go away. The nightmares that you were trying so hard to defeat finally won, but the consummation process was never completed because something out there on the other side woke you up."

Lucina remembered something striking her just before she regained control of herself. It was as if someone had given her a rude awakening by physically shaking her from her dream, but that didn't really explain the sharp pain she was feeling in her stomach.

"That Grima was a fake," replied Lucina. She distinctly remembered the dragon melting into black bugs when she finished him.

"Indeed it was," said Master Hand. "Grima was just another monster created by the nightmares in order to petrify you. He is no different from the other creatures that attacked you during the other nights, like the Wallmaster… or the False Character."

Hold on. Wasn't Master Hand the one who was so against believing her in the first place? He brushed off all of her nightmares like they were some sort of fairy tale! Also, how the heck did he know so much about this already?

The two ended up staring at each other for quite some time before Lucina came to a horrifying realization.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she said. "You unleashed the nightmares in order to kill me."

"Well I can't take all the credit," replied Master Hand with a shrug. "I had a little help from Captain Falcon." He chuckled. "After all, were it not for his little scary movie, I wouldn't have been able to get my 'foot in the door' so to speak. Well, I suppose 'hand' in this case, but you catch my meaning."

Falcon sat up, albeit cringing in pain. It burned him more than anything to think that he had partly caused what had been happening to Lucina this past week.

"You bastard…" was all he could muster, holding himself through bloody teeth.

So it was true then. All this time Lucina was going after Grima, where in fact the one she should have feared the most was he who was supposed to be a trusted ally. There was no other feeling like that of being betrayed, and the very thought alone was enough to make her forget about her stomach pains.

"Master Hand…" she said in disbelief. "Why?..."

"I needed you, Lucina," replied Master Hand. "I needed you in order to survive. You were one of several candidates who could have been my host. I required someone naïve who possessed a corrupted heart. You are pure, but the memories of your past are what makes you so unique compared to the other newcomers. Using your mind, I was able to infiltrate the Super Smash Brothers at the cost of being confined to your dreams. I had to regress into a stasis form in order to maintain a weak enough presence that I would go unnoticed by the barrier. Your unstable emotions are what ultimately awoke me from my deep slumber."

He spoke as if he were not Master Hand, but someone else entirely. It was kind of confusing because Lucina was under the impression that Master Hand was nothing more than the president of the company. He was there on the first day when she signed the contract, and he's been around every other day of the year organizing the tournament and making sure everything was in tiptop shape. Could that all have been a lie as well?

She found herself drawing her sword, not because she wanted to strike, but because she had a feeling this "Master Hand" was yet another monster in disguise.

"Who are you?" she asked with a glare.

"I am not Master Hand," said the other entity plainly. "I am not Grima. You may consider me an old acquaintance of the Smash Bros., however this is the first time you and I have met so formally in person." Master Hand opened his palm forcefully, a blast of wind firing out and colliding with Falcon.

"Whoaaaa!" Falcon was blown out of his spot, sliding across the ground until he came to a stop next to Ike. Master Hand then floated up high, towering over Lucina who braced herself with the Falchion blade close to her chest.

"My original plan to overthrow the Super Smash Brothers has been impeded by you and your stupid friends," said Master Hand, staring down at the lonely swordswoman. "Your body and mind are no longer of use to me, and the only way I will be able to set myself free from this godforsaken prison is to crack open the very plane on which it stands." He snapped his large fingers, the ground beneath the Smashers' feet immediately beginning to quake. Lucina had to crouch down in order to maintain her footing. "I didn't expect you to learn the secret of the dream world so soon. Thus you leave me no choice; I have to kill you, Lucina."

Lucina was about to raise her voice in response, but she ended up holding onto the ground as a huge chunk of the roof that she was standing on shot off into the air like a geyser. The platform continued to raise her higher and higher until she had disappeared into the cloudy vortex in the sky.

Falcon rolled over on his back, his head still a bit dizzy. He could see the large platform up above as if it were some sort of floating island.

"This dream just gets weirder and weirder every time I turn around…" he muttered. Ike crawled over and fell on his back as well, staring up at the vortex along with his companion.

"Nothing we can do about it," he replied, trickles of blood dripping down the side of his head. "Just leave it to Lucina. She can handle this on her own."

"Give 'em hell, Lucina." Falcon stuck up a fist before his arm collapsed. "Damn. I'm gonna feel this in the morning..."

Lucina opened her eyes, pulling herself to her feet. All around her, whirling clouds and lightning were shooting off all over the place. She couldn't tell how high in the air she was, but judging from how close she was to the storm, a fall from this height would definitely prove to be fatal.

The platform she was standing on appeared to be completely flat, about as long as the Final Destination stage that was frequently used in tournament matches. As a matter of fact, this platform bore a striking resemblance to that of Final Destination. She wasn't completely familiar with the stage layout since most of the matches she participated in were on Battlefield, but looking at it, there really wasn't much to take in. Final Destination was flat, supposedly an even playing ground for all participants on it, although fighters who had some kind of projectile weapon always had an easier time than the strictly melee combatants.

A sinister laugh caused her to raise her blade. She turned around to see Master Hand float down onto the other end of the stage about as normal-looking as ever.

"We won't have any distractions up here," said Master Hand. "I want to make this as painful as I can for you."

He snapped his fingers yet again, but instead of another chunk of rooftop flying into the sky, the sound was followed by yet another maniacal laugh coming from the opposite end of the stage. Lucina ended up doing a double-take realizing that she was now sandwiched between two giant white hands.

"Crazy Hand?" she said aloud.

Indeed, Crazy Hand had also joined the party, albeit looking more spontaneous than usual. His fingers were twitching erratically, as if he was eagerly awaiting something. Compared to Master Hand's cool and calm demeanour, seeing the left hand act so aggressive was unsettling to say the least. Crazy Hand had always known for being, well crazy, but he usually did a pretty good job at not making it apparent.

"I invited Crazy Hand to join us for a little bit of fun," replied Master Hand casually. "He's been off his medication for quite some time now though, so be careful… He is known to bite."

"H-Hey Lucina!" exclaimed Crazy Hand. "Come DIE with me! I mean, come DANCE with me! I won't KILL you! I mean, I WILL kill you! Kill, kill, kill! I want to CRUSH you!"

It wasn't known by Lucina that Crazy Hand had quite the reputation for killing things in the past. These kinds of oversights were normally suppressed thanks to some drugs, but leaving the hand without his precious medication was pretty much the equivalent of having a crazed and rabid bear on the premises.

Of all the things she encountered in her dreams, Lucina wouldn't have expected to be fighting Master Hand and Crazy Hand so suddenly. She didn't even know if the two characters could fight considering they never partook in scheduled brawls and were really just around to help organize events. Given their abnormally large size for a pair of hands however, she had a feeling that this fight wasn't going to be easy.

"I am not afraid," she said calmly. This was actually the truth. Knowing that Grima and the other monsters were merely creations of her own mind gave her the reassurance that she had the power to change everything. There was also a good chance that Master Hand and Crazy Hand could be spawns of her own imagination as well, meaning that fear was nothing more than a fictional concept as long as she was alive. "Come at me!"

"Brave last words," hummed Master Hand. "Crazy, get to work."

Crazy Hand responded with more maniacal laughter, sweeping across the stage directly at Lucina. She jumped out of the way, air-dodging a surprise slap from the right hand. She was able to land and deal an upward Smash Attack, skewering Master Hand, but the point of her blade barely seemed to puncture him. Instead of blood, the hand leaked more Swarm, and they appeared to rain to the ground and dissolve in a near instant. Master Hand fell back, preparing to launch a flurry of rockets on her position. Meanwhile, Crazy Hand flew up, whirling back onto the stage like a spinning drill. Lucina was able sidestep and retaliate with a Dancing Blade, using the power of Master Hand's rockets to perform several Counters on Crazy Hand.

The fight wore on with similar patterns. The two hands would strike (sometimes synchronizing attacks) and Lucina would dodge or Counter it in one way or another before replying with an attack of her own. This battle tactic proved to be effective against the Risen back in Ylisstol, and it was surprisingly still pulling through for her. Both Master Hand and Crazy Hand appeared to let loose some sort of blackened parasites every time they were hit directly.

"Hold still! Hold still!" cried Crazy Hand. He lunged at Lucina while she was in the midst of fending off an attack from Master Hand. He wrapped his fingers around her, pulling her into his fist and clenching tightly. She dropped her sword. "No escaping!"

Lucina kicked and pushed, her body completely enclosed within the grasp of Crazy Hand. It was dark, and the lack of air was starting to get to her head fast within the claustrophobic space. Crazy Hand began grinding his fingers together, clenching to the point where she felt like her head was going to explode.

"Squish, SQUISH!" sang the crazed hand. "I will SQUEEZE your little brain right out of your little head!"

"I believe that makes it game over, Lucina," said Master Hand. "It was a pleasure knowing you."

Memories from the first encounter rushed through Lucina's mind, the sight of snakelike coils wrapping around her limbs and holding her in place giving her tingles. The pressure on her body was too intense, and it wouldn't be long before her bones would start snapping apart. She closed her eyes, remembering that again, this was all just a dream. She had the power to overthrow all of this since, after all, the game was set in her own playing field.

She wasn't about to spill any more blood tonight.

When her movements fell limp, Crazy Hand let out a disappointed sigh. Master Hand was actually quite surprised to see her give up so fast.

"Aw…" said Crazy Hand, his fingers still clenched into a fist. "Did I squish her too much?"

"You probably did," replied Master Hand. "Please, if you're going to open up, then do it over the side."

"Whoa, hey! She's awake!" cried Crazy Hand, shaking back and forth. Lucina sprung free from his iron grip, landing on the ground and sweeping up her sword. She whirled around with a horizontal slash across Crazy's fingers, knocking him away as he howled in pain from the blow.

She stood up tall, barely a scratch on her. She appeared to be perfectly fine despite having been through the Crazy Meat Grinder.

"As long as you're in my dream, you'll play by my rules," she said with a glare. Master Hand noticed a faint sign above her head, apparently showing the value, "32%."

Not only did she change the rules, but she changed the aim of the game entirely.

"Clever," said the hand. "We'll see how long you can last though."

In traditional Super Smash Bros. tournament matches, fighters were placed on a stage where they would duke it out in order to determine a victor. Under tourney regulations however, each character was given a percentage meter, a means in which damage received could be calculated based on how many hits connected. Simply put, the higher the percentage, the farther a fighter would be launched when struck by an opposing attack. This method helped to eliminate the blood factor and other physical drawbacks that regular fighting would require such as severing limbs and fatal blows. Fighters who lost matches were never killed, but instead got knocked off stage into the out-of-bounds area.

Personally, Lucina always preferred the classic method of dealing with foes, which usually implied cutting through them with her blade. She never thought she would be thankful for the unrealistic rules of the Smash Bros. tournament.

Master Hand opened up with an array of lasers firing from his fingertips. Lucina darted between the shots, narrowly dodging each and every one before jumping up and striking with an aerial attack. Her shoulder ended up getting singed in the process, but it was a small price to pay considering the lasers were normally hot enough to cut through steel.

At this point, Crazy Hand had once again joined the battle, and he was surprisingly pretty happy about it. He always enjoyed playing with his prey before outright killing them in the most gruesome way possible. Given the new rules of the dream world, it was going to be difficult for him to tear Lucina's arms and legs off, but he was completely fine with just hammering her with his fist.

"How much more abuse can you take?" taunted Master Hand, launching across the stage like a rocket and knocking Lucina up in the air. Crazy Hand followed through by slam-dunking her into the stage. Just before she hit the ground, she performed a roll back into an upright position, brushing off the attack like it was nothing.

"More than you think," said Lucina. "This is good practice for me while the tournament is still on suspension."

"How SMUG!" scoffed Crazy Hand. "Let's see how confident you are after I CRUSH your HEAD into little bitty pieces!"

Crazy Hand went for another grab, but Lucina spot-dodged it just in time. She followed through with another Dancing Blade, finishing off with a beautiful Dolphin Slash. The crazed hand then began freaking out, falling to the ground and throwing a violent tantrum all over the stage. The swordswoman had to jump back a few feet in order to stay out of harm's way.

"Crazy! Calm down or you'll break something again!" cried Master Hand.

"It's not fair!" shouted Crazy Hand. "She's supposed to die! Die! DIE!"

"Then let us finish this once and for all!"

The two hands got up, floating apart until they were both off the stage. Lucina's gaze darted back and forth between the two, noticing their open palms. That's when she realized they were going for another team attack. She held her blade up and crouched down ever so slightly.

"I cannot lose," she said through gritted teeth.

The two hands closed in on her position at rapid speed, preparing to flatten her into a pancake with their Super Clap Attack.

"So long, Lucina!" cried Master Hand.

"Kill, kill, kill, KILL!" screeched the maniacal voice of Crazy Hand.

They slammed into her with enough force to level a building! As soon as they connected however, the sound of steel clanging echoed through the stage, followed by a perfectly timed Counter. Lucina's sword cut right through both hands, the two brothers reeling back in pain as hundreds of Swarm began showering from their bodies. Their cries rang throughout the entire dreamscape, but Lucina didn't notice. She simply sheathed her sword yet again.

"You are nothing more than another monster," she said. "An illusion. Get out of my head."

The two hands exploded, a rain of Swarm bugs pelting the stage. Just as she expected, this version of Master Hand and Crazy Hand was nothing more than another copy, much like Grima was earlier. It still begged the question however: Who was the puppet master controlling all of these entities?

Although it wasn't the response she was looking for, she noticed that the bugs began swirling together on the stage, forming a new body as if to contest her supposed victory. Lucina quickly drew her blade yet again, but she almost didn't know what to say as the Swarm creatures began to grow in size. The monster molded by the Swarm ended up towering over the stage, taking the shape of five large swords. The swords appeared to be somewhat joined at the hilt, but they still floated malevolently in the air as if they were being hung by an invisible ring. Since they were made of black bugs, the blades didn't appear to be very sharp, however, Lucina knew better than to underestimate a new opponent.

She sprang into action again, this time dodging sword swings while trying to deliver a few of her own. Due to the large nature of the creature, it completely outranged her own blade, forcing her to dive in close in order to land a few hits. Sometimes the blades would separate and slash by their own course, which left Lucina no choice but to keep her head down to avoid being struck. She was nicked a few times and almost knocked off the stage at some point, but with enough patience, she was able to finish the job with a powerful upward Smash. A faint cry could be heard in the background as the Swarm dissipated into the air, the sword creature disintegrating in an instant and leaving behind yet another swarm of blackness.

The Swarm swirled around on the spot, dissolving into the air and revealing one more monster for her to face. This new foe, however, was one Lucina remembered encountering some time ago in the past. Her memories of facing this creature were quite vivid, as that night in her bedroom was one of the worst nights she had ever experienced in her life.

Standing before her in the clearing was the woman who knocked on her balcony door five nights ago. From the blue hair to the matching uniform, this copy was Lucina down to the very last letter. The only thing that remained different between them however, appeared to be the face, since this creature merely had a black void in place of where its eyes, nose, and mouth should have been.

The doppelganger drew its sword, preparing for battle.

"I never thought I would see you again," said Lucina, her blood running cold. Her memories from that horrifying night were indeed fresh in her head, and she couldn't stop seeing blades and blood in her face every time she blinked. The wounds from that night still lingered on her body as scars, reminders of exactly what this creature was capable of. "But in a way, I'm glad. I've been meaning to pay you back for what you did to me that night."

The copycat didn't seem to care what Lucina was saying. All it wanted was to fight, and it demonstrated this immediately when it charged at her with a flurry of sword slashes.

Lucina raised her shield (another perk for being in tournament matches) before retaliating with her own series of strikes. The blows were direct, and the doppelganger stumbled and flinched as she stepped forward with each attack. Eventually, their swords clashed, and the creature would begin to mirror her every move. Striking high would only be blocked high, and striking low would consequently be blocked low. She kept up the pressure, forcing the monster to take a defensive stance in order to wait for an opening, but Lucina knew better than to give it that chance. She deflected a sword swing, following up with a Shield Breaker directly in the stomach. The monster stumbled back a few steps holding itself as Swarm poured out of its body.

Lucina recalled what happened the last time this creature was so brutally wounded. She immediately felt her own stomach, expecting there to be some kind of mirrored blow or something. Fortunately, the wound was not there at all, which only gave her the reassurance that she was still in control of this dream.

She had nothing to fear.

She charged at the monster, unleashing a complete Dancing Blade on it. The creature didn't even have room to respond or block as it was pushed back farther and farther to the edge of the stage. Finally, Lucina disarmed the creature, sending its sword on a one way trip to the mansion down below where it shattered in a burst of blackness. The monster, now kneeling weakly with the tip of Lucina's blade at its face, could only stare up into the eyes of its executioner.

Lucina peered into the black void of the monster, hesitating slightly. Was this creature the cause of the nightmares? Curiously, Lucina studied the creature's face, looking deeply and trying to see something there in the endless void. She half-expected to see her own face (because hey, that wouldn't be weird at all) but there was nothing. This copycat was as silent as the grave, and Lucina didn't even expect a response if she tried talking to it.

"You put up a good fight," she said, "but you are powerless so long as I never fear." Being fearless, it really was the reason why she could overcome all of these obstacles. It almost took the lives of her friends for her to realize that she didn't need anyone to believe in her.

She just needed to believe in herself.

"Begone, nightmare," said Lucina, charging her final Shield Breaker. "My eyes are finally open."

She thrust her sword forward, piercing the head of the creature and shattering it to pieces. The Swarm particles fell to the ground in a heap before drizzling over the edge like spilt milk. Lucina sheathed her sword, and took a deep breath. Her damage counter read "120%."

"_It's over_," she thought. "_Thank the gods_."

Suddenly, a wave of Swarm came up like a tidal wave over the stage. Lucina had no choice but to cover herself as the bugs came crashing down on her. Oddly enough, they didn't sway her position in the slightest, but instead revealed one final enemy for her to face.

She opened her eyes to see a small glowing orb sitting on the ground in the center of the stage, eying it for a few moments before approaching it cautiously. The sphere itself appeared to be mostly white, but it gave off some kind of calming aura as if it were telling her that everything was going to be fine. Peering into the center of the orb, she thought she could identify the face of a man within.

"_That is it_," came a telepathic voice from afar. "_I have nothing else_."

Lucina realized that the sphere was talking to her, albeit in a very soothing (and somewhat sexy) male tone. She ended up kneeling down beside it in order to get a better look at it, but nothing about this orb seemed particularly interesting.

"Who are you?" she asked. Truthfully, she wasn't sure where the heck this thing had come from, but it appeared to be ominous enough to have the answers she was searching for.

"_I am Master Core_," replied the orb. "_I am the one responsible for your nightmares_."

So this was it then. Master Core was the reason why this week had been the worst week Lucina ever had in her entire life. It was also possible that Master Core was the one speaking through Grima and Master Hand, which would explain why they didn't sound like their regular selves whenever she heard them speak.

"_You have every reason to be angry with me_," continued Master Core. "_I shall not hold it against you_."

"I wish to finish this," replied Lucina. "But there are still somethings that I do not know."

"_Then allow me to enlighten thee_."

She gazed into the orb, noticing a series of flashing images cycling through the glass window. She recognized a lot of the people being displayed as fellow Smashers of the mansion. They appeared to be engaged in battle against various enemies that weren't familiar to her.

"_Seven years ago, the Super Smash Brothers and the Subspace Army clashed in a war spanning a multitude of regions. This war became known as the Subspace Emissary, a battle pitting the world's strongest warriors against the forces of darkness. The dark army was led by a being known as Tabuu, a creature so powerful that he was able to enslave Master Hand and force him to betray the Smashers. Tabuu wanted to change the world, nullifying the very concept of good and evil in order to make every universe in existence perfectly equal. Unfortunately, the Super Smash Bros. didn't agree with this sentiment, which is how the Subspace Emissary came to be. In an epic struggle, Tabuu was defeated at the hands of the Super Smash Brothers, and was subsequently sealed away into the far reaches of Subspace. Tabuu had no hope of returning, and the bonds that the Smashers formed on their journey helped them to become stronger individuals overall_."

The images showed of an angelic faceless man bound by chains of light. The Smashers were also there and they appeared to be celebrating, watching the sun go down on the edge of a cliff. Lucina could recall Robin telling her something about Tabuu and his history with the Smash Bros.

"_After Tabuu's defeat, the portal to Subspace was closed, and a new tournament began for the Super Smash Brothers. However, Tabuu was able to escape, at the cost of severing a part of his body in order to pursue the Smashers. This eventually led to how your first nightmare began_."

Lucina recalled what Master Hand had said, remembering some kind of entity that was lying dormant in her mind until her fears could trigger its awakening.

"_Tabuu chose you to house his vengeful spirit, but was only able to sustain himself as long as you gave in to fear. The more distraught you were, the more room there was for him to grow, which led to the birth of the nightmares. Grima and the other monsters were merely a manifestation of your greatest fears. Tabuu thought that by assaulting your mind with constant doubts, he could eventually take control of your body and use it as a portal to find his way out of Subspace. What he didn't anticipate however, was you overcoming your fears so soon_."

She had her friends to thank for that, but she also had to give herself a pat on the back as well for standing up and believing in herself. After all, fear was only as powerful as one perceived it.

"_Master Hand is not dead; he was under Tabuu's control. He was trying to warn you when he returned your exalted blade, but he wasn't strong enough to break the hypnotic chains. Your actions have freed both him and his brother from this wretched prison. You also saved the lives of your friends_."

Lucina stared into the glowing orb, seeing images of her friends in the mansion, scouring the place as if they had lost something precious.

Putting together everything that Master Core was saying, all of this week's past events were beginning to add up. Tabuu, the evil leader of the Subspace Army, had returned and used Lucina's mind as a playground in order to set up his awakening. The monsters were all just mere creations of his, and it also explained why Master Hand had been acting so strange this whole time. Hearing all of this straight from the horse's mouth was pretty reassuring…

However...

"Your explanation makes sense," said Lucina, looking at the ground. "But… where do you fit in to all of this?"

Master Core gave a small laugh.

"_Why, I am Tabuu of course_," he replied plainly.

Lucina stood up, backing away and drawing her sword out of instinct.

"_Do not be alarmed_," said Master Core. "_I have expelled the last of my power. I am nothing more than a shell now_."

"You're the part of Tabuu that attached itself to me?" she asked.

"_I am; that is why I must ask you to destroy me. With your fears erased, there is nothing left for me to use. I cannot live in this realm anymore_."

Lucina stood there hesitantly. She knew about Tabuu's power and what he was capable of. Could she really trust this creature's word? Regardless, if Master Core truly was the source of her nightmares, then she had no choice but to be rid of it once and for all.

"Very well," she said, approaching the sphere. "I will destroy you. But first, you must answer me this: What were you hoping to attain by altering our universe?"

"_Equilibrium_," replied Master Core calmly. "_Imagine a world where there is no hate, no jealousy, no fighting. Imagine a world without fear. I wanted to change what billions of lifeforms had desecrated over millions of years, and that was the preservation of a pure society. Everyone would be treated equally. Heroes and villains would be just a story, and even people who live the most boring of lives could die happily knowing that there would never be any other person who could live a better life than them. It was a vision that… Master Hand and Crazy Hand just couldn't understand_."

She thought about Master Core's words, the idea that the world could become one with itself if everyone were to be exactly the same. There would be peace sure, but peace didn't mean anything if it meant she couldn't be the person she was. And what about her friends, or her family, or everyone else who lived their lives with a meaningful purpose? To paint everyone in the same bland color would be an insult to the beings that created them.

"A world without fear," echoed Lucina. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that's something I'm just not willing to accept."

"_Why not?_"

"I couldn't live in a world without darkness if it meant there was no light. Sure, it's unfortunate that such negative emotions have to exist, but perhaps that is the thing that makes life so interesting? I wouldn't trade this life for anything if it meant changing the people I have come to know here in the Super Smash Brothers."

The faces of her friends flashed through her thoughts, and there wasn't a single Smasher she knew who didn't cross her mind in that instant.

"_You stand on the same line as your fellow Smashers then_," said Master Core. "_I wouldn't expect anything less_." The orb paused momentarily before saying, "_In any case, my fate has already been decided_."

Lucina raised her blade, narrowing her eyes on the image of the man inside of the sphere.

"Do not expect me to show any mercy," she said.

"_I wouldn't dream of it_," replied Master Core, the images on its surface fading back to white. "_Good-bye, Lucina. Pleasant dreams_."

"Good riddance."

Lucina charged one more Shield Breaker, unleashing the full attack on Master Core. The orb cracked immediately on contact before launching into the distance, right through the walls of the vortex. The next thing she knew, the island she was standing on began to fall, forcing her to crouch down and brace herself. The platform collided with the mansion rooftop below, fitting back into place as if it had never left. She sheathed her sword before running over to her friends, who had all grouped together since she last saw them. They were still sitting on the floor.

"Hey, look who it is!" said Shulk, holding the side of his bleeding ankle with his hands.

Lucina fell to her knees before the Smashers, a sad and distraught smile on her face.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done," she replied. "All of you."

Ike nodded his head while Falcon gave a wink. He was still missing the helmet.

"I told you we'd be here till the end," said Ike. "We couldn't let you do this all by yourself."

"Easy for you to say," replied Falcon. "At least you didn't get stabbed in the chest."

"I'm… sorry for that," said shameful Lucina. "I couldn't control myself."

"I-It's not your fault!" Falcon put his hands up; he didn't mean for that to come out the wrong way. "I'm just sayin' that my injuries are ten times worse than his."

"As if," said Ike. "I'm just better at suppressing pain than you are."

"I can do that too you know! Watch!" Falcon tapped himself on the arm before giving a small cry of pain. "Ouchie!"

"Well at least our spirits haven't been broken," exclaimed Shulk.

Lucina laughed, seeing her friends in such a good mood despite all they had to endure. She made a mental note to explain everything she learned to them afterwards.

"Come on guys," she said. "Let's go home."

"Sounds good to me."

Lucina began helping the others up to their feet, but stopped when she noticed Master Core floating just overhead above the forest. The orb was still cracked, and it appeared to be hovering there without a care in the world.

"_What is it doing?_" she thought.

Just then, a blustering wind overtook the area, forcing the Smashers to get down on the ground again. Wood, bricks, and other debris began flying into the air, carried by the current that was all heading toward Master Core. Even the clouds in the sky were getting sucked in as if Master Core had turned into some kind of giant vacuum cleaner.

"The dream world is collapsing!" shouted Ike over the wind. "Everyone grab a hold of something!"

He immediately lifted his sword up and plunged it into the ground, holding onto the hilt with all his might. Shulk was almost knocked off his feet, but Ike reached out a hand and grabbed his wrist. By this point, their legs were already in the air, and had Shulk not been holding onto the Monado, he definitely would have lost it to the hurricane.

Falcon took a hold of Ike's leg, hanging on for dear life, but the poor mercenary found himself stretching a bit too far. It really wasn't good for his wounds.

"Falcon, you're hurting me!" he shouted.

"Well it's not like I have anything else to hold onto!"

Lucina unfortunately, lost her footing to the wind. She had made an attempt to grab on to one of her companions, but a low-flying piece of plywood had struck her in the head. She was immediately lifted off her feet and carried across the mansion's rooftop like a ragdoll, twisting and tumbling in the air without any control. She couldn't even cry for help, and it wasn't long before she reached the side of the roof and inevitably toppled over the edge.

"Lucina!" cried Shulk.

"Dammit!" shouted Falcon. "Where the hell is my helmet!?"

"Lucina just went over the edge!" cried Ike.

"What!?" Falcon glanced around, noticing that Lucina was no longer with them. The orb floating in the sky continued to suck everything up like no tomorrow, but a lot of debris was also falling off the rooftop because of it. He snorted. "Not on my watch!"

Falcon promptly let go of Ike's leg, using the momentum from the wind to get back onto his feet. He then began sprinting across the rooftop at incredible speed, his footsteps propelled by the force of the wind around him. He leapt off the side of the building, performing a downward Falcon Kick in order to break free from the turbulence.

Lucina continued falling past the hundreds of floors belonging to the dream mansion. She could see her dazed reflection in the windows staring back at her. Below her was nothing but darkness, the land in which this world was created now reduced to nothing but another void. To fall endlessly wasn't something she had taken into account, but she couldn't even tell which way she was facing. She just kept on falling, the sounds of the trees ripping from their roots and the mansion falling apart becoming nothing but echoing bells that hammered throughout her head.

She closed her eyes.

"_Lucina!_"

Someone was calling her, but the voice was faint. It did sound familiar, but it wasn't something she had heard for quite a long time. The voice was warm, comforting, and it reminded her of her childhood days in Ylisse when she would come home after field exercises to find a cooked meal waiting for her.

"_Lucina._"

There it was again, that marvellously captivating voice. That voice that would soothe her to sleep whenever she needed a nap as a baby, or that voice that had enough power to command all attention in a crowded room. She could remember it, and how she wished she could be in the loving arms of the man who that voice belonged to.

"_Lucina, take my hand._"

She opened her eyes.

Above, reaching out to touch her, was a fair-haired man in white armor. He appeared to give off an aura of brilliant light, and as he spoke, time began to slow. His blue locks tickled his face, his smile giving her the courage to open up and welcome herself into his arms. His hand was the wing that she wished to glide upon, and so she reached up in response.

"Father…" she said.

"_Take my hand._"

She stretched as far as she could go, their fingers almost close enough to connect. As she blinked, the image of her father had disappeared, and was instead replaced with the helmetless Captain Falcon. His gloved hand was still outstretched towards her, and she found herself hesitating as she stared into the scarred eye of Mute City's deadliest F-Zero racer.

"Lucina!" he shouted. "Take my hand!"

Seeing the resemblance in their faces was almost strange to her. It was as if her father had been here the whole time, watching her and protecting her from the nightmares since the very beginning.

Lucina reached up, taking Falcon's hand as he also did to her. She soon found herself out of breath, her vision starting to get blurry. She closed her eyes again. Falcon pulled his body around her, putting an arm over her head, doing everything in his power so that whatever they hit, he would be the one taking the blunt of the impact.

The two friends continued to fall into the abyss as the world around them began to crumble.


	33. Lucina Laughs

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 33: Lucina Laughs

* * *

As the murmurs and whispers grew louder, Lucina could feel herself struggling to open her eyes. She couldn't quite place where she was or who else was in the room, but she couldn't get the overpowering smell of banana out of her nose. She blinked a few times, the blurry shapes and figures becoming more distinct as her eyes adjusted to the bright lighting.

She let out a yelp and pulled herself up when she noticed a huge pair of grinning teeth in front of her face.

"Donkey Kong, will you give her some room already!" said Princess Peach, grabbing the big ape by the arm. DK let out a sheepish grunt as he backed away from Lucina's hospital bed.

"Morning Lucina!" exclaimed Toon Link.

Lucina was still coming to grasps with what just happened. She could have sworn she was falling to her death not even a minute ago, yet here she was lying in a clean white bed with a clean white gown draped over her body. All around her stood numerous residents of Smash Mansion including Marth, Link, Zero Suited Samus, Pit, Kirby, Luigi, and Ness. Toon Link and Lucas were both sitting on the opposite end of the bed with smiles on their faces, while other characters such as Falco, Dark Pit, Megaman, and Mr. Game and Watch were standing around the perimeter of the room. They were standing in the mansion's hospital wing, a location that Lucina honestly was pretty familiar with by this point. She didn't even have any time to react before an excited Pikachu leaped up onto the bed and straight into her arms.

"Pika Pi!" he said happily, snuggling into Lucina.

"Pikachu?" she replied. Her gaze fell to the other onlookers of the room. "What is going on here?"

"You did it, Lucina," said Marth warmly. "You overcame your fear and defeated the nightmares once and for all."

Indeed she did, but Lucina could barely retain any memory of the event. She remembered seeing Grima, Master Hand, and some sort of human that looked like her. The name she could recall as Master Core was also familiar, but the strange voices of the being were something that she could not place.

It was like she was trying to piece together the remnants of a dream.

"I… really did then," was all she could say, the realization being almost unbelievable to her. "But… But what about Master Hand? And…" She immediately remembered Captain Falcon, Ike, and Shulk. "The others!"

"Don't worry, they're all fine," replied Link reassuringly. "Master Hand told us what happened. Most of us were able to survive the attack of the Swarm."

"Most of you?" said Lucina.

"All of us except for one," replied Marth, looking at the ground. "R.O.B. was… destroyed by Grima."

"Oh no…"

"As unfortunate as it is, we should be thankful that we are all still here. Had it not been for you, we all would have been goners for sure."

Marth put a hand on her shoulder, but ended up leaning down to give her a full on hug, which she didn't even know how to respond to. Pikachu ended up getting squished in between the two, but he held back on the electric shocks only for Lucina's sake.

Pit led an applause that soon broke into the room, even getting his reluctant counterpart to join in on the occasion. Lucina didn't know what to say, seeing so many relaxed and happy faces praising her for her accomplishment. It was very heartwarming and she ended up shedding a few tears at the amount of pure joy she was feeling on the inside.

The nightmares were over. She and her friends were safe.

"You gave us quite a scare you know," said Samus. "We weren't sure at all if you were going to wake up or not."

"How long was I asleep for?" asked Lucina, Pikachu's plump body sitting on her lap.

"A few hours at least. Robin was able to contact us and let us know where you were. We found you lying in a cave beneath the mansion grounds."

Lucina had nearly forgotten about Robin; her last vivid memory of him just so happened to be during the nightmare where Grima was decimating Ylisstol. She didn't recall seeing him anywhere in her last dream, which made her wonder if he was really alright.

"I want to see him," she said all of a sudden. "All of them; Captain Falcon, Shulk, and Ike. Where are they now?"

"Easy there," replied Marth. "I can assure you that they are fine. They've been busy cleaning up the mansion with the others after the attack."

"They couldn't though." She remembered the epic battle on the roof. "They were all critically wounded."

"As was I," said Marth, "yet here I stand."

"Yeah, that's kind of weird," muttered Pit. "I'm feeling perfectly fine too."

"It's quite simple actually," came a voice from the door. Master Hand casually floated into the room hardly fazed by the sight of Lucina in her hospital bed. Smashers big and small stepped aside to give the large hand the room he needed. "With Master Core finally vanquished, all of the events tying the dream world to the real world were erased. Thus, any injuries that you all suffered throughout the course of the event were removed. That doesn't say much about the mansion unfortunately, which reminds me: If any of you see Wario anywhere, tell him that he needs to clean his room for once in his miserable life, otherwise I'm personally booting his ass from the tournament."

Yep, Master Hand was definitely back.

"Master Hand…" said Lucina, somewhat surprised. "You're alive?"

"Alive and kicking," he replied nonchalantly. "Before you say anything, let me just get this off my chest first." The hand cleared his "throat," taking a deep breath before giving a small sigh. "Lucina… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you and for the way that I was acting. I was possessed by Master Core, driven to the point where I imposed so many stupid rules in order to ruin your life here at the mansion. I apologize for not trusting you, for suspending the tournament, and for embarrassing you amongst your peers. I hope that this apology will suffice since I honestly don't know what else to say." He paused. "I just feel terrible, and if there is anything I can do to make it up to you, please just tell me."

Well, at least he apologized.

Master Hand's words certainly explained a lot as to why he was acting so different this whole time. It's not like he had any control over it, however, and hearing it come out like this almost made Lucina feel sympathetic towards the guy. Master Hand was about as helpless as she was when she was being controlled by Grima. She knew now that none of this was his doing or intention, and for the first time since the start of the tournament she could tell exactly what this hand was feeling.

"I understand," she said. "Thank you, Master Hand, but there is nothing I need at this point. I just want to make sure that everyone is okay."

"Well, _that_ I can assure you of," said Master Hand. "Everyone is out and about right now trying to clean up the mess left behind by those troublesome Swarm. With the nightmares over, I will be making an announcement tomorrow in the auditorium about upcoming plans for the tournament, along with you, Robin, and Captain Falcon's current standings. This meeting is mandatory and I hope that all of you will be able to attend."

"Ugh, a meeting already, seriously?" grumbled Dark Pit. Falco nudged him in the arm, a subtle way of telling him to knock it off.

"Pi, Pikachu," said Pikachu sternly.

"Only if Lucina's going, eh?" replied Link with a smirk.

Pikachu looked up at Lucina, to which she responded by patting him on the head.

"We shall all attend," she said. "In the meantime I will do what I can to assist the others with cleaning duties."

"The Waddle Dees can take care of it for the most part," replied Master Hand. "You all just make sure your rooms are in order, and if you happen to find any of that Dream Tap, notify either me or Crazy Hand as soon as possible. He's still being punished for slipping the drug into my drink on the night of the party."

Lucina recalled hearing something about the reason why Master Hand wasn't able to attend the Smash Bros. party a few nights ago was because of some spiked tea. Crazy Hand had always been known as one to play practical jokes, but it seemed that even he wasn't aware of the repercussions of using Dream Tap. Perhaps that was the reason why the two hands were able to appear in her dream before?

Kirby was curiously messing around with one of the nearby towel racks and ended up pulling a bunch of them off and onto the floor. He seemed pretty happy about it however, giving an excitedly "Poyo!" before tossing some of them into the air.

"Oh, Kirby…" sighed Ness. He and Pit began picking up the mess, while the little puffball in question just sat on the floor innocently.

"If all of you are done saying your hellos to Lucina, then I kindly ask you leave in order to let her rest," said Master Hand. His gaze fell to Toon Link who was distractedly poking Lucina's toes through the blanket. The young swordsman looked up at the hand, smiling sheepishly before getting off the bed. "She's had a long day, and there's still plenty of work to do." He floated towards the door, stopping briefly to glance at the clock on the wall. "It's about 4:00 in the afternoon; dinner will be served in a couple of hours. I'll see you all then."

With that, Master Hand left the room, along with a few other Smashers who waved good-bye to Lucina in order to return to their cleaning tasks. Marth reached over to one of the nightstands and lifted a pile of clothes onto Lucina's bed.

"Your armor has been washed and is ready," he said. "I also have your sword if you need it."

"Thank you," replied Lucina, rubbing Pikachu's back. "You may hold onto it for a little longer; I don't think I'll need it today."

"Suit yourself. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"No thank you, my lord," she said. Marth gave her a look for referring to him like that, since they've had plenty of discussions in the past on not to use formalities. Hero-King or not, he was still family, so it only made sense for them to be more casual with each other. The teasing way in which she said it however, was reassuring since Lucina wasn't nearly as troubled as she was every other day this week.

"Okay guys, let's get out of here," said Link, leading Kirby and Lucas to the door. "We'll see you soon, Lucina."

"That goes for you too, mister," said Samus, tapping the side of her leg to get Pikachu's attention. The electric mouse, who had been busy cuddling against Lucina, raised his head up and quickly dashed off the bed and onto Samus' shoulder. She, Marth, and the other remaining Smashers vacated the room, leaving Lucina all to herself.

"See you later, Lucina!" called Pit from the hall.

As she sat there in the silence of the hospital wing, she couldn't help but stare at the clothes Marth had given her. It was almost weird in a sense how calm everyone was despite the hectic battle that took place last night. She had been sleeping throughout her entire morning and the day was almost over! Not to mention, she still had no idea where Robin and Falcon were, which was making her kind of anxious. The Smashers all seemed pretty cool about the whole nightmare thing however, as if this sort of tragedy was something they were used to seeing every day. It was kind of funny in a sense, but she wasn't complaining about it. All that mattered was that it was finally over, and she could return to her life as a fighter training under the guidance of the Super Smash Bros.

Despite what Master Hand had said, Lucina didn't feel the least bit tired. As a matter of fact, she felt rather exhilarated, what with her injuries fully healed and everything. With only so many hours left in the day, she thought it would be in her best interest to take a stroll outside the confinements of her room. She had to find out what happened after Master Core's defeat!

Without thinking, she swiftly changed into her regular clothes. She spent a few minutes scrounging around for her boots however, only to find that they had slid under the bed, likely due to all of the people who had arrived in her room from earlier. She checked her hair and face in the bathroom, noticing that the cut along her cheek had completely vanished. She felt as good as new, and it was quite a relief since she was worried that she might have retained a permanent injury from the nightmare whether it be physical or mental. But no, Lucina was back to being Lucina, and man did it feel great to be alive and awake once again.

* * *

She went for a walk through the mansion halls, bypassing various Smashers and Waddle Dees along the way. Just as Master Hand had said, everyone was hard at work trying to get everything fixed after the attack of the Swarm. Lucina really didn't know what to expect since she was never there during the initial assault, but stopping by to have a brief conversation with Palutena gave her more than what she needed to know.

"They were like bees and they could pick you up like something out of a Mickey Mouse cartoon!" she would say.

Lucina had no idea who Mickey Mouse was or what cartoons had to do with the Swarm, but she was able to get a general idea of how they worked. It was hard to believe that so many tiny creatures were born of her mind, but then again, there were creepier and deadlier things that she had come up with, like the False Character and the ghost of Grima himself.

As she continued on her journey, she was hoping that Master Hand wouldn't spot her for fear that he would forcefully carry her back to her room like a little kid who was up past curfew. Fortunately, Meta Knight had informed her that Master Hand was busy cleaning up his own office, getting a small team of Waddle Dees to rewire the secret elevator in order to make it faster. Apparently he was looking at turning the underground cave into a training and storage facility. With any luck, they would be able to use this room in order to help prepare for the tournament.

Waddle Dees were busy scrubbing and dusting various halls and rooms, while other Smashers like Diddy Kong and Charizard were delivering cleaning supplies to the areas that needed it the most. The Koopalings were pretty much confined to their own rooms since they never picked up after themselves anyway. As expected, Sonic had come up to Lucina asking if she wanted to race, and for the first time ever she decided to agree with the blue hedgehog, on the condition that he would tell her where Robin and Captain Falcon were. Obviously, Sonic was able to beat her by a landslide, but ended up colliding with a wall when he slipped on a soapy floor from one of the Waddle Dees.

Lucina learned that Captain Falcon, Robin, Ike, and Shulk had been assigned to clean the foyer.

She eventually passed by Ganondorf, who was on his knees outside one of the commons areas scrubbing down a hardwood floor. Seeing the dark and mighty Gerudo King reduced to a housemaid was pretty funny, and she found herself staring for more than she should have before Ganondorf gave her a menacing glare. She scurried away (albeit out of nervousness), passing by the Duck Hunt Duo who were holding up signs that read, "They went" and "thata way." They were pointing down the next hall, which broke out into the mansion's foyer. Lucina briskly brushed past a few more Waddle Dees and Jigglypuff before opening the double doors at the end.

She was standing on the second floor of the mansion's foyer, and things were looking pretty messy. Dirt had been tracked all over the second and first floors, and the chandelier that hung in the center of the ceiling was missing a few glass crystals. The windows had also been smashed, a team of Waddle Dees using stepladders to replace the broken glass, while other banners and pictures were being taken down and wiped clean of smudges.

"Um, Falcon, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked the voice of Shulk from the main floor.

Lucina quickly ran to the edge of the railing upon hearing the Homs, a great wave of relief overcoming her when she noticed her friends at the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't help but grin at the crazy predicament they were in.

"Of course it's a good idea!" replied Falcon. "Me and my buddies used to do this all the time back at the college! We call it, 'Turbo Spring Cleaning.' Just throw on some Big Blue and you got yourself a speedy cleanfest!"

Shulk was standing on the tiled floor with two scrub brushes tied to his shoes. He had his arms out trying to maintain his balance atop the suds, while Falcon stood by proudly with his hands on his hips. Meanwhile, Robin was on his hands and knees trying to scrape the dirt out of some cracks, while Ike was nearby sweeping dust and other debris into a pile with a large broom.

"Will you two stop fooling around and help me out here?" said Robin in annoyance. "You've spent the last fifteen minutes trying to get those brushes on Shulk's feet."

"It takes some time to set up, but believe me when I say that it's well worth the wait!" replied Falcon.

"You told me you had a method to make our cleaning more efficient," said Shulk reluctantly. "You never said anything about turning me into a walking scrub brush!"

"If it was really that bad, your 'Muh-nah-doe' would have told you about it, I'm sure."

"It doesn't work like that!"

"Well too late! Let's get this place cleaned F-Zero style!" Falcon reached behind and hit the "play" button on his cassette player, the rocking tunes of Big Blue blasting through the miniature speakers. "Three, two, one, Falcon SCRUB!"

Falcon shoved Shulk with such force that the poor boy was rocketed across the floor. Robin watched curiously, noticing that the brushes on Shulk's feet were actually getting the job done! The problem was, however, that Shulk didn't know how to control where he was going, and only ended up scrubbing in a straight line. In a matter of seconds, the Homs boy slammed into a wall, instantly falling flat on his back and into the soap suds on the floor. The resulting shockwaves knocked a pair of nearby Waddle Dees off of their stepladder, dropping the glass pane they were carrying and shattering it on the tiled ground. Falcon swiftly killed the music on his player, while Robin just stared at the scene with his mouth agape.

Ike sighed before casually strolling over to the glass and sweeping it up with his broom.

"If anyone asks," muttered Robin, "I was never here."

Lucina tried to contain herself, putting a hand over her mouth at how hilarious that maneuver was. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she couldn't handle it and ended up bursting with laughter as she put a hand on her stomach.

The sound of her voice immediately caught the other Smashers' attention, but the Waddle Dees were too distracted trying to frantically figure out how they were going to fix the broken window.

"Lucina?" said Robin, pulling himself to his feet.

She smiled at her friends. All this time she had been so worried about them, yet here they were in the mansion's foyer doing what they do best: Having fun. It was almost strange seeing them all in such a casual environment after having endured a trip to Hell and back.

She didn't say anything, but glided down the steps with such haste that it would have made Sonic jealous. She leapt into Robin's arms, letting out another series of laughs and causing the tactician to return the gesture.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed. "All of you are okay!"

"Of course, why wouldn't we be?" replied Ike, waltzing up to her. "It takes more than a lame boogey man to kill us."

She ended up breaking away from Robin and giving Ike a warm hug, which was surprising to him since he didn't really expect anything from her.

"You are all so amazing," she said. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done."

"Don't thank me; Falcon's the one who dove off the edge for you."

Lucina looked up, noticing Captain Falcon standing awkwardly on the side. He had his trademark crash helmet atop his head, but he seemed to be more shaken up by the broken glass than from her return. She walked up to him, noticing him tense up as they made eye contact.

"Um…" he started. "Good job, Lucina. You fought well." Falcon stuck a hand out, as if to commemorate her on her victory against the darkness. Lucina ended up just staring at his open palm awkwardly, debating whether or not he was trying to pull some kind of last-minute joke on her.

"Dude, just kiss her already," muttered Ike while shaking his head.

"What!?" cried Falcon as he backed up a step, his face turning beet red. "You can't just walk up to someone and kiss them like that, Ike! There are rules for these sorts of things! What kind of guy do you think I am if you think I would just-"

But his train of thought was immediately derailed when Lucina leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. Falcon froze on the spot, comprehending if what just happened really happened. His mouth fell open, but no words came out, and he could feel his heart pounding and his blood pressure rising at all the excitement that was building up inside him.

Robin averted his gaze awkwardly. He had forgotten that his relationship with Lucina was still a mystery to most of the Smashers, but now he was beginning to question how close they really were. What exactly happened in that dream earlier today?

"I am in your debt, Captain Falcon," said Lucina with a smile. "Thank you for everything."

Falcon had his gloved hand pressed against the side of his face, feeling the spot where Lucina kissed him. His gaze then fell to Robin, who made eye contact with him but pulled away yet again out of embarrassment.

Falcon had a stupid grin on his face.

He recalled the conversation he had with Robin outside of Wario's room right before the Swarm broke loose. At that point, neither of them were really sure who Lucina had a thing for, but both of them were willing to put their names on the line in order to prove which one deserved her more. It was kind of like a competition, and in hindsight, it might have been a little childish. Now the question running through both of their minds was, did Lucina finally make her decision?

Lucina noticed Falcon glance at Robin. She looked to Ike for any kind of hint as to what the heck was going on, but in all honesty he didn't have the slightest idea either.

"Um… A little help please?" came Shulk's voice from the other side of the room. He was still lying on the floor in a miserable pile of soap suds.

"Come on, Lucina, let's go help him," said Ike all of a sudden. He quickly grabbed Lucina's hand and pulled her across the room, giving Falcon a glance that said, "You sort this out right now," along the way.

"Coming, Shulk," called Lucina.

Falcon watched her go, still somewhat in a bit of a daze before Robin smacked him across the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for!?" shouted Falcon.

"Will you be quiet!" replied Robin almost at a whisper. "Look, I don't know what went on in that dream world, but so help me if you seduced her in any way-"

"Seduced her!?" Falcon was taken aback by Robin's claim. "How low do think I'm willing to go!?"

"I didn't expect her to get _this_ attached to you!"

"She didn't even kiss me on the lips! I'm the one that got jipped, not you!"

"Then stop giving me that creepy smile!"

"What, I can't relish in the moment?"

"Falcon, I don't think the plan worked very well," said Shulk as he approached the two Smashers. He was also accompanied by Ike and Lucina, but Robin and Falcon scrambled to maintain their composures and make it look like they weren't just having an argument.

"Oh yeah, the plan," replied Falcon in distraction. "We'll try again next time. I think I got a pair of snowshoes somewhere in my closet."

"Anyway, Lucina," said Robin all of a sudden, "it's great that you made it. Falcon told me all about the battle. Apparently, Grima wasn't really the one behind the nightmares?"

"No, actually," replied Lucina. "It was a being known as Master Core, created by Tabuu. His plan was to infiltrate and overthrow the Super Smash Brothers from within my dreams, but thankfully we were able to defeat him."

"I see. Well, you missed one heck of a fight that took place in this very room." Robin gestured to the large space that was the mansion's foyer. "There was a huge standoff right here between the Smashers and the Swarm, but you were sleeping during the whole event."

"We ended up losing that fight," said Shulk. "It got to the point where we had to barricade ourselves inside of Master Hand's office, can you believe that?"

"I wish I could have been there to assist," she replied, her gaze falling to the ground.

"Uh, it's not a big deal though!" replied Robin. "After all, you were able to defeat Master Core all by yourself."

"Hey!"

"Oh, with Falcon's help of course."

Ike cleared his throat.

"And Ike. And Shulk too."

"What about you, Robin?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, I was around," he replied, recalling the horrifying battle against R.O.B. and Lucina's possessed body. He didn't want to allude to the fact that Lucina had hurt him during the fight, however, it was actually his doing that snapped her out of her trance in the first place. "You didn't see me, but I was fighting alongside you just as much as the others were."

"None of us can vouch for him though," coughed Falcon, who received a firm punch from Ike for that statement.

"So as you can see, it's been quite the adventure for all of us," continued Robin. "I'm just happy that you're finally home safe and sound."

"Me too, Robin," replied Lucina. They ended up embracing each other again, while Falcon stood off to the side making audible gagging sounds. Ike of course had to shut him up again for that.

"Well in the meantime, I guess it's back to work," said Shulk, shuffling his scrub brush feet into the floor.

"Agreed," replied Ike. "We only have a few hours until dinnertime and Master Hand wanted this room sparkling clean before then. Although, I don't know why he assigned us to do it out of all people…"

"I know right?" said Falcon. "It's not like we didn't just freakin' save everyone's lives from imminent death or anything."

"I like it better this way," said Lucina. "It gives me the chance to spend more time with you guys."

She received a round of heartwarming smiles from her friends. It was weird being here without anything to worry about now. There were no nightmares, no monsters, not even a tournament since it was technically still on suspension. They were just a bunch of regular people, enjoying each other's company for all it was worth.

And to Lucina, that time was worth more than anything in the world.

"Hey Shulk, I'll race ya!" cried Falcon, slapping on a pair of scrub brush shoes. He immediately sped off around the perimeter of the room.

"Hey, no fair!" replied Shulk, struggling to get himself going before Ike have to give him a push.

Robin handed Lucina another brush, and the two of them were on the floor rinsing and scrubbing away, while Ike resumed his duties of sweeping up the broken glass. While they were working, the two began catching up on everything they missed in between, such as Robin telling her about the secret room in the basement of the mansion, and also about the forgotten Smasher known as Mewtwo. At the same time, Lucina told Robin about her dream, describing the gruesome encounter she had with Grima and even the weird fight with Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Even more interesting to Robin was the fact that Lucina had encountered her False Character a second time, and that overcoming her fears was the driving force that led her to victory.

Seeing Lucina in such a good mood was something that he really wasn't used to, especially after what happened this week. Robin was grateful, however, to see her smiling again. With the core of the nightmares finally wiped off the face of the earth, he knew that this night was going to be one of the best nights she's had in a long time.


	34. A New Beginning

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 34: A New Beginning

* * *

It was a typical Friday morning for the residents of Smash Mansion. Breakfast had arrived piping hot at 9AM, which was a little later than the usual time in order to compensate for some of the Smashers' lack of sleep recently. Lucina certainly didn't complain about it, and was actually feeling quite chipper having had a full 12 hours of undisturbed rest. The same could be said for the likes of Falcon, Robin, and even Ike, although all of them ended up showing up in the dining room earlier than what was scheduled. They were pretty much used to the daily routines, but hey, if arriving at breakfast a half hour early meant fresh eggs and meat, then that was totally fine with them (and especially for Ike).

Most of the Smashers had already come in and were chowing down by the time the clock struck 9:00. Waddle Dees were busy as always rushing up and down the tables, passing and receiving various platters, and barely able to keep up with characters like Kirby who seemed to literally inhale the dishes one after the other.

Even in the light of the casual atmosphere, Wario was still absent despite being a man to never miss out on a hearty breakfast.

As per usual, Falcon and Ike were seated at their end of the table and sitting across from each other in the heat of a debate. This time however, they were joined by Shulk, Robin, and Meta Knight, who were up until this point enjoying their meals before the argument broke out.

"You can't seriously be telling me that after all the shit we've been through you still don't believe in ghosts," said Falcon flatly, a half-eaten piece of toast in his mouth.

"Ghosts are one thing," replied the mercenary, who was furiously cutting into a slice of ham on his plate. "Those things that came out of Lucina's nightmares are something else entirely."

"Ghosts, ghouls, goblins, they're all the same." Falcon glanced across at Robin, who appeared to be looking pretty pensive this morning for some reason. "We take orders from a giant disembodied hand for cryin' out loud!"

"Um, if I could cut in for a moment," said Shulk all of a sudden. "I think what Ike is trying to say is that the Swarm is nothing like the monsters in your Horror movies."

"Thank you, Shulk," replied Ike. "There really is no comparison here. You can have your Freddy Krueger and your Jason Voorhees, but at the end of the day those make-believe monsters are just that: Make-believe. The Swarm was something completely different, and you saw as well as I did how 'real' they were. You of all people should know by now that there's a fine line between what's real and what goes on in your movies and video games."

"That's not the point," muttered Falcon with gritted teeth. "The monsters that came out of Lucina's dreams might as well have been Freddy Krueger or something like that!" A lone Waddle Dee waltzed up to the table to refill the group's coffee and juice, to which Falcon spat a quick, "Thank you." He took a long dramatic gulp before setting down his mug firmly. "There's no such thing as 'make-believe' anymore, especially when some dead dragon from a million years ago can come back without even lifting a wing!"

"But that wasn't even Grima to begin with," retorted Ike. "Master Core, on the other hand, was certainly real." He put down his utensils to wipe his mouth with a napkin. "I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time seeing what Hollywood movies have to do with the catastrophe that befell this mansion."

Falcon let out a small grunt, as if he wanted to say something but felt like it wouldn't add anything to the conversation at all. "Robin, help me out here!"

Robin sat up at attention at the sound of his name, somewhat surprised and dazed upon realizing where he was. He appeared to have been in the middle of a daydream, having been staring at the contents of his untouched cup of tea for almost twenty minutes. He glanced around to see the others staring at him, most of which had concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked Shulk, his head tilted down towards a piece of toast in hand.

"Ugh, sorry," replied Robin. "I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?" asked Falcon.

"N-Nothing…" His gaze fell back to his drink in which a lone teaspoon sat. It was still hot, but the steam had dissipated long before he even noticed.

His friends exchanged a few glances with each other wondering what the heck must have been on his mind. Meta Knight on the other hand, appeared to be rather indifferent, and continued to play the game of Solitaire he had started at the beginning of breakfast. Everyone was pretty much used to the fact that the Star Warrior never ate in company, however, that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the conversations that naturally arose from social gatherings.

"Well, if you're sure…" replied Shulk, uncertain on how to respond.

"It's nothing, I promise," said Robin, although Ike could tell he was lying through his teeth. Falcon simply shrugged his shoulders at his response, figuring that if something was wrong then Robin surely would have spoken up.

After all, they were good friends now, right?

"Anyway Falcon, you can believe what you want to believe," said Ike all of a sudden. "All I can conclude at this point is that you and I have completely different definitions on what determines something to be 'make-believe.'"

"Pfft, as if," spat Falcon, rolling his eyes slightly. "Well fine then if that's the way you want to be." He took another bite of his sausage before waving his fork around like he was giving some kind of lecture. "But the next time ol' 'tall, dark and ugly' comes knocking on your door, don't come cryin' to me."

The friends continued chowing down on their meals while engaging in some more conversation pertaining to nightmares, movies, the Swarm, or all of the above. Robin however, appeared to be more silent than Meta Knight, barely even saying anything at all besides sentences that ended in less than three words ("Yeah," "Sure," and "I guess."). Secretly, he was feeling rather troubled, but his worries had nothing to do with Master Core, or the Swarm, or even the state of the tournament. No, there was one and only one thing on Robin's mind at this point.

Lucina.

He thought that she had been acting a little strange since her long-awaited return. Instead of greeting him with a kiss, she merely gave him a hug, something that she treated all of her friends to equally. Even when he spent the entire rest of the afternoon with her, Lucina didn't seem to want to talk to him about personal things, which was honestly strange since he was always the first person she went to whenever something was on her mind. Sure she told him about the battle against Grima and Master Core, and even what it was like in the dream world and how she was trying to regain control of her body, but anything that was even remotely hinting towards things like their relationship she more or less dropped. Granted, even with all the time they spent together yesterday, very rarely did they ever find themselves alone. There was always _some_ Smasher who felt the need to butt-in unannounced, like Pit and his usual excitement, or even Marth and Peach. It was like the entire roster was out to prevent him from getting anywhere close to Lucina, and although he played it off pretty cool, deep down inside he was feeling rather agitated. The only way he could convert these emotions into an outward feeling was to just let them simmer and remain mellow.

That wasn't the only thing, however.

Robin noticed upon Lucina's arrival that she had given Falcon a kiss. Really it was just a kiss on the cheek, and the F-Zero racer probably deserved it based on what Ike had told him earlier, but in the end a kiss was still a kiss. Lucina went out of her way to show her affection to Falcon, but why not Robin? It's not like she was ever comfortable doing that sort of thing in front of others. The fact that she didn't hesitate to leap into Falcon's arms made Robin feel somewhat betrayed, abandoned, but by whom he wasn't really sure. He recalled mentioning to Falcon that Lucina had feelings for him, however, those words were nothing but lies, mere fuel to spark the flame of Captain Falcon's deterministic ego. Without that, there's no way they would have been able to infiltrate Wario's room and secure the Dream Tap, among other various things that took place between then and now.

He was starting to believe that having any kind of sympathy for the racer was turning out to be one of the biggest mistakes he's ever made in his life.

Even worse now was the fact that Lucina didn't seem to notice Robin's upset feelings. Either he was a really good actor (he kind of was, and Lucina had always been known to be a little gullible) or his relationship with Lucina was never as close as he thought it was. Just thinking about it made his stomach ache, and he could feel his heart twisting and tearing every time he heard her name.

"Morning Lucina!" said Shulk all of a sudden.

Robin sat up straight again, almost knocking his tea over in the process. He glanced over to see Lucina and Samus approaching the table, both of them looking unusually happy to see their little group of misfits.

"Good morning everyone," replied Lucina, a glass of orange juice in her hand. She appeared to be rather clean today, the bags under her eyes now completely gone, as well as the various bruises and scars that had lined her lower face from before. She looked about as innocent as the day she first set foot in the mansion. "Did you sleep well?"

"We ought to ask you that," replied Ike with a smirk. "Samus, how are you?"

"I'm fine thanks," she replied. "You mind if we sit down?"

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Falcon. "Hey Shulk, why don't you scoot down a bit to give the lovely ladies some room?"

"That's okay, Captain Falcon," replied Lucina. "We'll just sit down next to Robin." Lucina shuffled over to the mage's side, taking a seat next to him as he did his best to give a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good," said Robin, noticing Samus take a seat next to Lucina. In a matter of seconds, a nimble Waddle Dee scurried up to the table and dropped a full plate of food in front of the Smashers. "How was your evening?"

"Peaceful," said Lucina warmly. "I can't describe how relieved I am now."

"She means it too," chimed Samus. "I'd never seen her laugh so much when I saw her this morning."

"Laugh?" asked Shulk. "Laugh at what?"

"Oh, it's nothing really," replied Lucina, although it was plain to see that just thinking about it was making her grin sheepishly.

"Crazy Hand was moving some of the Items today and accidentally dropped one of the Galaga Ships," continued Samus. "He ended up having to chase the darn thing all over the second floor. It actually caught one of the Koopalings and almost carried them out the window."

Lucina was containing her giggles successfully, and Samus' explanation even earned a laugh from Falcon and Shulk. Neither Robin nor Ike found the story to be all that funny, and seeing Lucina act so outgoing to jokes like that was almost weird in a sense.

It was almost like she had emerged from the horrors of her nightmares a different person.

More than likely however, she was probably just really happy to finally be rid of the dreams once and for all.

"You had to be there," said Samus.

"I kind of wish I was now that you mention it," replied Shulk with a chuckle.

More discussions soon followed this, most of them about Lucina or the nightmares, and even some speculation on what Master Hand was going to do about the tournament. The Smashers were expecting an announcement from him sometime later on in the day, so in the meantime the only responsibilities they had were too each other. Some Smashers had dropped by to say good morning to Lucina, and she surprisingly appeared to be okay with it. She was much more comfortable now, having previously been a pretty quiet girl who usually went about her days unnoticed in the mansion. All of the newfound attention was welcome, but she certainly did not want to be treated like a celebrity. A simple "Hello" or "How are you?" was more than enough to make her feel like she was among friends, and after having endured the horrifying encounters of the nightmares, she definitely felt much closer to the Super Smash Bros. than ever before.

Robin on the other hand was still looking rather pensive, and didn't feel all that comfortable sitting here in the middle of the conversation. Words from the Smashers passed over his head as he continued to stare at his cold tea in anxiousness. He felt the need to say something to Lucina, but there was no way he could do it with all of these people around. He wanted to know the truth, or at least learn if Lucina had really been playing him for a fool this whole time. She wouldn't do that though would she? She's not conniving or dishonest, and she certainly isn't one to let down the ones she cares about.

If she just so happened to care about Falcon more than Robin however, then that definitely wouldn't be good.

In the midst of his contemplation, Robin felt a warm hand wrap around his beneath the table. He looked down to see Lucina had touched him, and he followed her arm all the way back up to her pretty face.

Feeling her hand again was reassuring to say the least.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Robin realized that the group's conversation had long since broken off and was now split between Falcon, Shulk, and Ike, who were discussing what possible proposals Master Hand had prepared for the tournament. Rosalina, Ness, and Fox had also joined their end of the table, although they were busy chatting with Samus about the possibility of rebuilding R.O.B. after the fatal dismantle he went through yesterday.

Meta Knight was still silently playing Solitaire by himself.

"I-I'm fine," replied Robin, pulling his gaze away from her blue eyes. "I've just… had a lot on my mind lately."

He noticed Lucina had already finished her meal and was sitting with a full mug of tea in front of her. Although her beverage was steaming, Robin's drink was about as cold as his hands.

"What's wrong?" asked Lucina. Robin did not pull his hand away but continued to have it nest in her loving palm. He wanted to tell her what was troubling him, but here in the middle of the breakfast rush just wasn't feasible. He needed to talk to her in private; somewhere where they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Uh…" he started, unsure of where to start. "Can I talk to you after?" Lucina noticed the side of his lip quiver a little as he asked his question. He had never acted this way around her before, and honestly it was starting to make her worry.

"Of course, Robin," she said seriously. "You can talk to me about anything." She squeezed a little on his hand, and he returned the gesture as if he was holding onto whatever hope he had left.

"Good." He broke away from her grasp and stood up. "I'm going out. Need to get some fresh air." He paused, glancing around and looking for some kind of excuse. "It's a little stuffy in here."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

Robin made his way to the exit, not even bothering to say good-bye to the others. Granted, Ike and Shulk were still in a heated discussion about whether or not Master Hand was going to change the typical stock rules to timed battles (but let's be honest here, nobody plays timed battles).

Lucina felt the urge to go after him, but she remained in her seat pretending like she was participating in the other conversations at the table. Instead, she found herself sitting silently pondering on what was bothering Robin so much. She couldn't remember him acting so strange before her final nightmare took place.

She didn't notice that Falcon had also watched Robin leave, but he was keeping his head down for some reason.

"Follow him," said a low voice from across the table.

Lucina faced forward to see Meta Knight place a queen of spades on top of the king of hearts. The Star Warrior seldom ever spoke, but when he did, he certainly never joked around.

"Sir Meta Knight?" she responded.

"Listen to your heart," he replied deeply. "It cannot lie to you."

He continued placing cards down on the table, not even giving Lucina a second glance. She thought about his words for a few seconds, wondering if he had been listening to her conversation with Robin this whole time. Eventually, she pushed her seat out and stood up, saying a small thank you to the loyal Waddle Dees who were still tending to Smashers. She said her good-byes and headed to the exit, the little voice in the back of her head telling her where Robin had run off too.

Falcon took another gulp of his coffee as he watched her leave.

* * *

It took Lucina a few minutes to climb three stories and make it to the rooftop, but when she got there Robin was already standing by the edge watching a flock of Swablu overhead. The birds were heading towards the clouds, but it didn't really matter since most of the sky was clear anyway. The sun was shining brightly and the wind was a little breezy, giving enough of a push so that Robin's robe brushed slightly against his leg.

"I had a feeling you would come here," said Lucina as she approached him. She walked past a pile of Rolling Crates, Targets, and other various training Items that had been stacked up near the entrance. Robin turned his head at the sound of her voice, but most of his body was still facing the other direction.

"You can't get any privacy in the mansion," replied Robin. "Between the Waddle Dees and the Smashers, I'm surprised Master Hand hasn't converted this area into another commons room."

Lucina smiled at his comment, but it didn't last long when she saw that Robin didn't look very amused. She wasn't really sure how to approach this, but she always knew Robin to be the type of guy to never beat around the bush. He had something to say to her and he wanted to say it. That was simple enough wasn't it?

"What's on your mind?" she asked, walking up next to him. "You're starting to worry me."

Robin appeared to be somewhat surprised by her statement.

"I'm worrying you?" he replied. "Well, I suppose that's better than nothing."

Lucina was taken aback by his bluntness, for the way he said that last sentence came off a bit harsh. Now she was _really_ starting to wonder what was bothering him.

"Have I… done something wrong?" she asked seriously.

"You? Of course not," he said, turning to face her completely. "If anything, I should be the one at fault here. It was foolish of me to think that I could stand a chance against _him_."

Okay… Where exactly was he going with this?

"I… don't understand," said Lucina.

"I suppose he _is_ stronger than me," replied Robin, although the way he said it made it sound like he was talking to himself. "And I guess yeah, he has cooler moves than me. He's also much older, so I guess that makes him more mature?" He bopped himself in the forehead a few times. "Oh jeez, listen to what you're saying!"

"Robin."

"My apologies," he said, standing up straight. "I was merely thinking aloud. That's not something that I normally do, but perhaps he's rubbed off on me."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Lucina. Her concern was only growing more and more with everything that Robin was saying.

"Oh, you know," he replied. "He's a good friend of ours, or should I say yours. Well, he's probably more than a friend now at this point. You both seem to-"

Lucina pressed her index finger atop Robin's lips, sealing them with an invisible force that shut him up instantly. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, Robin's train of thought coming to a complete stop at the touch.

"Please Robin," she said. "Tell me what's wrong."

She lowered her arm, leaving him to take a deep breath and sigh.

"You really have changed," he said, tilting his head forward. "Okay, I'll tell you straight." He took a few steps back and returned his gaze to the grand view before them. "When you were asleep and in the dream world fighting Grima, your body had become possessed here in the real world. You came after me, and you also murdered R.O.B., but that's not what this is about. I don't feel bad about that at all because I know you had no control over it, and that's fine." He paused momentarily, but did not look back at her. "When you were possessed by Grima, you said some things to me." His eyes fell as he recalled the harsh words spewed from the girl he loved so much. "You said… that you didn't love me anymore. And that it was all a lie. I didn't want to believe it, and the better part of me knew I couldn't since it was likely Grima trying to distract me from the fight. But now, after thinking this, it kind of left me wondering you know?" He turned to face her again, their eyes locking as if they had never parted. "I guess I… I guess I just want to know the answer. Lucina… Do you love me?"

It hurt him more than anything to ask that with so much doubt, and seeing him on the verge of tears like this was almost enough to make Lucina want to cry. She honestly had no recollection of saying such things before, but if she did then she certainly felt as if she had betrayed him now. This explained why he had been acting so weird since her return, and after witnessing that kiss she gave to Falcon, it probably didn't make Robin feel any better about himself. Looking at it like that, Lucina felt like a fool, but surely this wasn't just some misunderstanding. After all, if she really felt that way about Robin, then she certainly would have been more open to him upon returning.

But really, this was all just a misunderstanding.

She walked up to him and pressed her lips against his, sliding her arms around his neck in the process. The motion caught Robin completely off guard, but he ended up responding by putting his hands around her back, closing his eyes.

"Of course I love you," she said when the broke apart from each other. "I'm sorry for making you doubt so much."

She rested her head on his shoulder as he swayed back and forth. His nose and mouth became hidden beneath the locks of her long hair.

"Thank the gods," he said. "I was beginning to think that Grima had brainwashed you or something."

"It's my fault," she replied. "I should have said something sooner, but I didn't want the others to see. I… I don't feel comfortable showing such affection in front of watchful eyes."

That's what he wanted to hear.

Lucina may have come out of her traumatic experience more cheerful than before, but deep down inside she was still the same compassionate and quiet girl he fell in love with. It still however, didn't explain why she went up and kissed Falcon yesterday.

"You didn't have any problem with 'showing affection' to Falcon," said Robin curiously.

"Oh," she replied as she lifted her head up. She realized that she contradicted herself. "With Captain Falcon… I wanted to thank him for everything he did. I know his efforts typically go overlooked here in the mansion, so I thought that I could reward him for his heroic deeds."

Robin appeared to be somewhat skeptical of that explanation.

"So that's it then?" he said. "You and him have nothing going on?"

"As far as I know, no," she replied. "You make it sound as if this is some sort of competition."

"Eh, maybe…"

She pecked him on the lips again, holding him tightly with her arms wrapped around him.

"I love you, Robin," she said. "I want to be with you for as long as I can. But I remember Master Hand saying something a long time ago about how he didn't want there to be any romantic relationships between the Smashers."

Robin could recall seeing something like that in the contract when he first signed up with the Super Smash Bros. It said somewhere that fighters weren't permitted to fall in love with each other. The hand's exact words were something like, "There shall be no dating, no kissing, and no male Smasher may visit a female Smasher's dorm (and vice versa) after curfew." Realistically, it's not like anyone ever followed the rules perfectly. If they did, well, then the Smashers would be up and out of bed at 6:30 in the morning every day, no one would lay a finger on anyone else in the halls, and people would always say good-bye to one another with, "I hope you have a smashing day!"

Seriously, how lame would that be?

"I understand," said Robin. "I'm perfectly fine if you want to keep things a secret for now. We don't have to tell Master Hand, but I feel that some of the others have a right to know what's going on between us."

"We can tell a few," she replied. "This mansion already has a reputation for spreading rumors as it is."

"If that's what makes you comfortable then sure."

She gave him a mischievous look seeing as how he was making it seem like he was only going to keep quiet for her own benefit.

"Don't sound so disheartened," she said. "I'm okay with keeping our relationship behind closed doors."

There were two ways Robin could interpret that, but since this was Lucina then it was more than likely she only meant it one way. Not that it made much of a difference to him. All he knew was that Lucina still loved him, and he wouldn't want to change that for anything in the world.

"Speaking of closed doors," said Robin," we're still alone on this roof."

"And?..." she replied with a small smile.

"Well, I was just thinking about how beautiful you look today."

"You're asking for something aren't you."

"I'm asking for another kiss."

And so they kissed again, and the feeling was pure bliss for the both of them. Lucina couldn't ask for anything more at this point, what with the nightmares now behind her and the boy she loved tucked safely in her arms. Now was the start of a new beginning for her, and she was relieved that even in a cloud of doubt, Robin still remained by her side no matter what.

"Look out!" came a voice from behind.

Robin and Lucina broke apart to see a Rolling Crate hurling towards them at incredible speed. They both jumped away from each other, the wooden box zooming past them and right over the edge of the mansion's roof. The crate fell three stories before colliding with the courtyard below and exploding in a mass of flame. Lucina and Robin both peered over the edge to see a few splintered pieces of wood and a charred black smudge on the pavement.

"Oops, sorry about that," said Falcon.

Robin and Lucina whirled around to see Falcon crouching behind the pile of training Items near the entrance. Apparently he had accidentally knocked one of the crates, causing it to go on a wheeling rampage without any sign of stopping. Those things were pretty dangerous, and a lot of the Smashers often wondered why Master Hand kept so many of them on the rooftop.

"Falcon?" said Robin. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you guys that," replied Falcon as he rubbed the back of his head. "I uh… I didn't mean to disturb you or anything."

"Oh, not at all," said Lucina. "But please try to be more careful. The crates are designed so that they move at the slightest touch."

"Yeah, I know." Falcon waltzed up to the two Smashers, noticing that they were holding hands. Lucina didn't think anything of it, but Robin was doing everything he could to test Captain Falcon.

"_This is it_," thought the mage. "_If he saw us kissing just now then he's bound to blow a fuse_."

Robin had his other arm out, ready to pull out his Levin Sword if things started to get a little messy. In all seriousness, he was expecting Falcon to go on a fiery rampage since he knew very well the kind of feelings he had for Lucina. To see her kissing and holding hands with another man surely must have made Falcon feel jealous, which would certainly trigger his temper. After all, Falcon did have a habit of reacting solely based on his instincts.

The three Smashers stood there in silence for a few seconds, Robin waiting on Falcon to make a move. Interestingly enough, Falcon was also waiting for Robin to say something, but neither party felt the need to take the initiative.

"Um, Captain Falcon," said Lucina, her cheeks turning a little red. "How much did you see?"

"I saw enough," he replied with a smirk. "All I can say is…" He gave them a thumbs up. "Congratulations to the both of you!"

Robin lowered his guard, somewhat astonished by Falcon's response. Here he was thinking that he was going to get Falcon Punched for making a move on Lucina, but instead he was getting praised! Was the world finally coming to an end?

"Who are you and what have you done with Captain Falcon?" said Robin in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" replied the F-Zero racer. "I'm Captain Falcon!"

"That's not what I meant!" He let go of Lucina's hand. "Aren't you at all upset by this?"

Falcon gave him a queer look, while Lucina also appeared rather uneasy.

"You and Lucina hooking up together?" he asked. "No. Why would I?"

What the heck was going on here? Robin could have sworn that he had been literally punched in the face yesterday morning by Captain Falcon because of mere jealousy. Yet now here he was acting like he never had anything going on with Lucina to begin with!

"Because you love her!" said Robin. "You told me yourself that you did!"

"Robin," interrupted Lucina, "what are you-"

"Stop pretending that you don't know and just fess up already!" continued the mage, not even noticing Lucina's comment.

Falcon scratched the side of his helmeted head in a rather cartoonish manner with another hand on his hip. He appeared to be about as confused as Robin was, but he still didn't have any idea of what he was going on about.

"Well, I don't 'love her' love her," replied Falcon. "I mean, she's a sweet kid and all, but there's no way her and I could be together." He chuckled. "Especially if it's you I have to contend with."

Robin was at a loss for words, but he was more stupefied than anything else. Where was the Falcon who tried so hard just to get Lucina to like him? Where was the Falcon who was standing with his mouth agape when Lucina had kissed him on the cheek? If Robin didn't know any better, he would have thought that this Captain Falcon was some sort of imposter.

"Anyway," said Lucina loudly, trying to draw the topic of discussion away from her. "What is it you wanted to see us for?"

"Oh right," replied Falcon. "I just came here to tell you guys that Master Hand will be starting the tourney meeting in a couple hours. I wasn't sure if you got the memo so yeah."

"Ah, good. Now we'll know for sure what our status will be once the tournament kicks off again. Isn't that great Robin?"

Robin continued to stare at Falcon, the wheels and cogs in his head whirling as he desperately tried to find an explanation to Falcon's sudden change in attitude.

"Yes…" he said. "Great."

Falcon noticed Robin's staring and ended up exchanging a glance with Lucina who shook her head in dismay.

"Was there anything else?" she asked.

"Actually yeah," replied Falcon. "Master Hand said that he wanted to speak to you before the meeting. I'm not sure what it's about, but if I had to guess…"

"It's probably about the nightmares," she said. "That's fine, thank you. I'd better go see him now."

She gave one last look to Robin, but his gaze was still focused on Falcon. She ended up leaving him be, scurrying off back to the mansion door and shutting it with enough force to snap him out of his trance.

Robin stood there puzzled for a moment, noticing that with Lucina gone, Falcon was casually standing before him. The two men faced each other in silence, and Falcon probably had one of the blankest looks the mage had ever seen on him. Robin however, still couldn't make heads or tails of Falcon's responses to his questions.

"Why…" he said, his eyebrows furrowed in a knot. "Why did you say that?"

Falcon shrugged his shoulders.

"Because I care about her," he replied.

All those things he said about not loving Lucina romantically, it was just a blanket to cover his true feelings. Falcon was indeed the same person, but something about him seemed different, and whether it was the way he carried himself or the way he spoke, Robin wasn't quite sure. Could this have been a result of Lucina's last nightmare?

"But I thought you hated me," said Robin bluntly. "I thought you despised everything I did with her, and you didn't want us to be together."

"I used to," replied Falcon with a smirk. "But I can't say that now. I just want her to be happy, and if being with you is what makes her happy the most, then I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it."

This certainly was a change of heart for Falcon, and a very nice one at that. Regardless, Robin was having a hard time coming to terms with how fast Falcon could change his mindset considering he was so adamant about getting together with Lucina in the first place. Truthfully, Falcon cared about Lucina, but if she thought that he had feelings for her then it would only complicate her relationship with Robin ever further. It was best to just let her be with who she wanted for better or for worse.

It was then when Robin realized how selfish he had been acting this whole time.

"I…" he stuttered. He couldn't bear to face Captain Falcon in the eyes. He kept staring at the racer's boots, a deep wave of regret and shame quickly overtaking him. For the past week, Robin had felt nothing but a bitter rivalry between himself and Falcon. He thought he was better than him being the more conservative and analytical fighter. It turned out that Captain Falcon was more a man than he gave him credit for, and now it was Robin's turn to feel like the stupid one standing there with his hands clenched.

Falcon retained a straight face, unfaltering as Robin's eyes slowly met the jagged lens of his helmet visor.

"Perhaps…" said Robin quietly, hanging his heavy shoulders in defeat. "Perhaps I was wrong about you."

"Huh? What's that?" asked Falcon, leaning an ear towards the mage.

"Falcon." Robin lifted his head, his voice slightly rising with a serious tone. "I'm sorry." He paused. "I know I haven't been the nicest guy to you. I was afraid that… Lucina would leave me because of you. I thought you were doing it all for your own amusement, but it turns out I was wrong. You really do care about her." He shut his eyes tight. "Oh gods, I feel like such a fool…"

How else was he supposed to feel really? Just a few minutes ago he was pouring his heart out to Lucina regardless of whether or not she felt the same way about him. And he wanted her to love him back, but was so caught up in the moment that he almost forgot about her feelings. If this was the kind of person he truly was, well, then perhaps Lucina really did deserve better.

"Hey."

Robin opened his eyes as he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. He was met face to face with a warm, genuine smile.

"Don't feel bad," said Falcon. "Lucina chose you because she loves you. You can't _force_ someone to fall in love." He chuckled. "Trust me, I've already tried that."

"It's not about Lucina though," replied Robin. "It's about me and the way I've been treating you. I never felt so bitter about anyone in the mansion until I met you." His lip quivered again, but he held it together. "There's no reason for me to be this way; you're a great person. You fight hard, you make people laugh, you do whatever it takes to protect our friends." He looked away again. "Compared to you… I'm nothing."

Falcon could sympathize for Robin, but it's not like he could blame him for any of this; he was well aware that he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. It was still nice to hear an apology all the same.

"Well I'm sorry too," said Falcon, "for making you feel that way because of the things I said or did. I'm not here to make enemies. I'm just trying to have a little fun."

Robin nodded. It seemed that there was much more to Captain Falcon than meets the eye. He may have been headstrong, and perhaps he had a tendency to say things without thinking them through first, but deep down inside he had the kindest of hearts. And it took nearly an entire week of nightmare monsters, swarming pests, and ancient reborn dragons for him to realize it.

"We may have gotten off on the wrong foot," continued Falcon. "Like, I never really knew you until I started hanging out with Lucina." He gave a small smile. "But one thing's for sure: I'm damn well glad to have met you Robin." Falcon removed his hand from Robin's shoulder and held it out in front of him. "Friends?"

Robin was seeing another side of Falcon that he didn't even know existed. No longer was the Super Smash Brothers' flashiest F-Zero racer laughing in his face or making smart comments about him. He had forgiven him, and Robin could easily find the words in his heart to describe how he felt the same. Robin reached out and grasped Falcon's hand in a firm handshake, wincing a little as a small tear escaped from his eye.

"Friends."

* * *

2 hours later…

* * *

The Smashers had all gathered in the mansion's auditorium, a room that was normally reserved for massive tournament meetings or announcements. Due to the sheer number of tourney participants, this process took well over half an hour, and that wasn't even including trying to track down the Koopalings who had all run off mainly because they despised serious meetings like this. The auditorium itself was designed to fit a little more than a hundred members at once, complete with lit paths that followed down to a large stage on the far side of the room. Here is where the typical talent shows or holidays plays were performed, and any extra seats that went unfilled were usually occupied by Waddle Dees who had been recognized for outstanding dedication to their jobs.

Today Master Hand had prepared a big announcement for the Smashers, something that most of them had been waiting on for quite a few days since the sudden suspension of the tournament.

"Let's see, is everyone here and accounted for?" said the big hand as he scanned the room. The Smashers were all seated, but hardly anyone was paying attention to him because they were talking amongst themselves. Crazy Hand came up from behind with a piece of paper in hand.

"Here's all the people that signed in when they showed up!" he exclaimed.

"Give me that!" replied Master Hand, swiping the note from his brother. "Hmm. Okay, Pac-Man, Greninja, Jigglypuff, yadda yadda yadda, Luigi… Anyone seen Luigi?"

Luigi waved from the audience, but he was barely noticeable thanks to Pit and Dark Pit who were both seated on opposite sides of him. The two angel boys were currently fighting over a bag of Twizzlers (which Dark Pit actually snatched from Villager when he walked in).

"Luigi's here!" said Peach.

"Link, Kirby, Meta Knight, Mr. Game and Watch, Little Mac, okay, okay," muttered Master Hand to himself. "Yeah, yeah… Lucina…" He glanced up to see Lucina sitting somewhere in the front row next to Robin, but the two Fire Emblem characters appeared to be in the middle of some discussion. Falcon was sitting in the row behind them and was engaged in some kind of thumb wrestle with Wario, and beyond them sat the Pokémon, the Koopalings, and some Waddle Dees. "Olimar? Where's Olimar?"

"Um, Olimar's right there," replied Crazy Hand, pointing to a short man in the left aisle next to Shulk and Megaman. "You don't have to give a role call or anything since everyone who signed their name should be here already."

"I know, I know, I'm just making sure." Master Hand took a few more seconds to scan the list and compare it to the audience. Eventually, he crumpled the piece of paper up and threw it behind him haphazardly, hitting Crazy Hand in the process. "Well, it looks like everyone's here! That's a first…" He took his spot at the center of the stage and cleared his "throat," while Crazy Hand hovered casually to his left. "Good afternoon members of the Super Smash Brothers! Thank you all so much for coming out on this fine summer day."

"Pfft, like we had a choice," replied Sonic, who was leaning back and had his feet kicked up on a poor Waddle Dee in the row in front of him.

"I am pleased to announce that as of this coming Monday, the tournament suspension shall be lifted and matches will resume as described in the schedule. You will all once again have access to the various stages, and the spectating booths will be reopened so that anyone can join in to view the games."

Applause soon rose from the audience. As expected, Master Hand was going to revive the tournament that had been so suddenly halted due to Lucina's nightmares. Most of the Smashers were already aware of this by now, however, none of them blamed Lucina for it by any means.

"I understand that there are some of you who have missed the last few matches because of… unforeseen circumstances. Therefore I have made it so that all matches from the last week will be stricken from the records, putting all participants back on the same playing field. All fighters who did win their matches however, will keep those victories marked on their own personal records." He was referring to Falcon, Lucina, and Robin, who had all unfortunately missed a few matches this past week. By wiping the databases of all recent brawls, he was essentially setting the entire schedule of the tournament back a week. Fortunately, winners still kept their wins, and even better was the fact that losers had their losses made obsolete. It was basically a win-win for everybody, and losing a week wasn't too much of a setback since the tournaments typically went on for several years. "In light of this new custom, I'd like to introduce a new fighter to our ranks… Well, I suppose he's not really 'new,' but he will certainly seem like a newcomer to some of you. Please give a warm welcome to our returning veteran, the legendary Psychic Pokémon himself, Mewtwo!"

The audience clapped as Mewtwo took the stage, floating nonchalantly as he always did. He appeared about as unscathed as he did when he was discovered in the hidden facility, but he did not look nearly as menacing as he did before. He still, however, maintained that mysterious aura about him as he levitated before the Smashers, giving a slight nod to acknowledge the welcome they were giving him.

"_Greetings, fellow Smashers_," he said telepathically. "_I am honored to fight by your side once again_."

"Mewtwo had been in a deep sleep for more than a decade now," continued Master Hand. "In light of recent events, he has awoken, but he is still the same Smasher that the veterans will know him by. Careful though, because Mewtwo is known to have quite the temper when he gets angry."

"Hey, just like Ganondorf!" said Crazy Hand.

A few Smashers in the audience laughed, but the room fell deathly silent when they heard the Gerudo King clear his throat.

"How amusing…" was all he said.

"Mewtwo will be the first of several fighters who will be joining us this year," said Master Hand. "I have received a few applications from some other potential Smashers, one of which belongs to Lucas, who has mustered enough courage to step forth and join us this year as well."

Lucas got some applause for that announcement, but he remembered asking Master Hand specifically to not say anything about it. Being the shy and quiet boy that he was, he ended up sinking down into his seat a bit, somewhat flustered by all of the attention he was getting. He received a pat on the shoulder from a nearby Ness.

Mewtwo floated back towards the audience and took a seat next to Pikachu.

"This brings me to my next point," continued Master Hand, taking a notice of Lucina. "By now, all of you should be aware of the dangerous creatures known as Swarm. You all put up a good fight; I wouldn't expect anything less from my Smashers. The fact that we almost lost everything yesterday, however, should be proof enough that you need to train harder." He paused dramatically. "One of our members, R.O.B., was brutally murdered at the hands of these monsters yesterday." This wasn't the whole truth, but really it was the easiest way to explain this to the Smashers. Lucina, Robin, and several others already knew exactly what happened, but no one was going to say, "Lucina got possessed and then she went crazy and cut R.O.B. up into little pieces."

Yeah, that wouldn't end well at all.

"We are an organization that strives to train the strongest fighters this world will ever know," said the hand. "The Subspace Emissary taught you all to throw your differences aside and to help each other for a just cause. R.O.B. was without question the most loyal and dependable member of the Super Smash Brothers, and he remained a trusted ally to the very end. We shall remember him, but I urge you all to never lose hope. According to our very own Fox McCloud, some of R.O.B.'s parts were salvaged from the wreckage in the underground facility. With any luck, we should be able to repair him. I have appointed Shulk and Fox as leaders in this operation, so if you think you can offer any assistance on these matters, please ask them immediately after this meeting is adjourned. I hope that together we can make R.O.B. feel right at home again once he is up and functioning properly."

More applause soon followed, along with some whistling and some shouting. The fact that R.O.B. was going to be okay was great news for everyone! Granted, R.O.B. was never particularly close to anyone to begin with, but the Smashers knew that at the end of the day, they were one big family. They had to look out for each other because sometimes it felt like Master Hand was barely even doing that.

"The next thing I'd like to talk about pertains to a few specific Smashers during the Swarm incident," continued Master Hand, although he didn't sound very thrilled about this. "You are all aware by now that any possession or consumption of the drug known as Dream Tap will have the user removed from the tournament without any exceptions. Crazy Hand and the Waddle Dees have made sure to destroy any and all remnants of the substance. At this point, I am confident that every last trace of Dream Tap has been removed from the mansion grounds, however, I am not particularly fond of the thought of some Smashers using the drug for their own amusement or to harm others. Therefore, I would like to ask the following Smashers to see me in my office immediately after this meeting: Ganondorf, Wario, Bowser, and King Dedede."

"What!?" shouted Dedede from the audience. "You gotta be kidding me! It was all a setup I swear!"

"This blows!" whined Wario.

"I will not be discussing this with you now," replied Master Hand calmly. "If you think you are being wrongly accused, then you can debate that with me personally afterwards."

Ganondorf sat there with arms crossed, remaining silent with a scowl on his face.

"Despite all this," said Master Hand, "I would like to end this meeting on something positive." The hand approached the edge of the stage, peering down at the two Fire Emblem characters in the front row. "Lucina, please stand."

Lucina hesitated, blinking in confusion as she stood up from her position. The room had fallen silent yet again, some Smashers like Falcon and Shulk literally on the edges of their seats anticipating what Master Hand possibly had to say about Lucina.

"All of you fought bravely to defeat the Swarm," said Master Hand warmly. "But had it not been for Lucina, we all would have certainly been consumed by the creatures."

Lucina stared at the floating white glove that was her superior, still unsure and slightly bewildered by what he was getting at. It was then when she realized that there wasn't anything to fear about Master Hand. She could hear it in his voice and see it in his movements that he didn't mean any harm unto her.

In fact, he appeared to be rather happy.

"Please give a round of applause for Lucina and her heroic triumph over evil," said Master Hand. "She's had one hell of a week."

Lucina turned around to be met with applause from all of her fellow Smashers. Master Hand had told her prior to the meeting that he planned on talking about the Swarm and the nightmares, but he didn't make any mention about _this_. Even fighters who couldn't care any less about this whole ordeal like Wario and Dedede found themselves reluctantly clapping along. Robin stood up as well, which was enough to get everyone else to stand in honor of Lucina's accomplishment. Master Hand and Crazy Hand were even applauding, but they had to stop after a few seconds because clapping for them literally meant bashing their bodies into each other like drunken sailors.

"Thank you," said Lucina, a small tear in her eye. "Thank you all so much."

She really was thankful because she knew that she couldn't have done it alone; her friends never gave up on her even when she was at her worst. There were times when she felt afraid, alone, or simply uncertain on what to do about the nightmares. With the help of her friends, she was able to find the strength in herself to overcome all odds, to stand up and face her fears, and to ultimately feel like an honorary member of the Smash Bros. family.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Master Hand. "This meeting is now adjourned. I'll see you all on Monday."

* * *

Later that evening…

* * *

"Alright boys and girls! Today's Friday so you know what that means?" Falcon posed dramatically in front of the flat screen TV with something sparkling in his eyes. "That's right! It's Captain Falcon movie night!"

Ike gave out an audible yawn, earning a chuckle from Lucina on the other end of the couch.

"I don't understand," muttered Robin, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch. "No one said anything yet you still felt the need to answer your own question."

"That's kind of how it works around here," replied Ike.

Falcon flashed a shining smirk at the tactician.

"Oh yeah, you're the new guy!" said Falcon. "Since this is your first time coming to one of my movie nights, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"

Robin looked around, but there really wasn't much to introduce himself to. With Ike and Lucina on the couch, Captain Falcon was the only other person in the room. Well, technically Pikachu was sitting in front of Lucina digging into a bag of ketchup-covered popcorn, but introducing himself at this point was more or less counter-intuitive.

"Falcon, you know who I am," replied Robin flatly. "_Everyone_ knows who I am!"

"I'm sorry, what was that '_new guy_?'" said Falcon, turning his head as if he didn't hear him the first time.

"Just play along with it," said Lucina, nudging her boyfriend on the shoulder. "He likes to play these up like some sort of preshow."

With the nightmares nothing more than a distant memory, the Smashers were back to their regular schedule of whatever it was they did on a weekly basis. For Captain Falcon of course, all this entailed was putting together another one of his weekly movie nights, a special event that only took place on Friday evenings.

After the meeting with Master Hand had ended, the Smashers pretty much spent the rest of the day hanging out and relaxing. Falcon was busy trying to get something together for tonight, while Lucina, Robin, Ike, and Shulk had gone out to play some Target Blast with Palutena and the angel twins. It was great to have a worry-free day for once, but it would ultimately go short-lived thanks to the tournament restarting in a few days.

At this point, they were best off trying to make the most of it.

"Pi-Pikachu!" protested Pikachu.

"What was that you little cheeseball!?" replied Falcon.

"He said that you never made Pikachu give an introduction like this during his first movie night," said Lucina in response.

"Hey, not bad," commented Ike. "You actually interpreted Pikachu's speech pretty well that time."

"Pika!" exclaimed Pikachu.

"Aw, thanks," replied Lucina, patting the electric mouse on the head.

"I know what he said!" retorted Falcon. "But he doesn't deserve an introduction. I mean, heck, he's been around here as long as I have. We are veteran Smashers who really need no introduction!" Falcon stood up tall and raised a confident fist, but Pikachu ended up just shaking his head in disdain.

"Well, what can I say?" asked Robin. "Hi, my name is Robin and I'm the Super Smash Bros. resident tactician?"

"That's not bad," replied Lucina. "I think it suits you."

"And?..." pressed Falcon. "Tell us about yourself."

"Oh! Uh…" said Robin as he thought of a response. "I specialize in elemental magic, and I spend my free time doing research."

"Wow, what a nerd," replied Falcon, putting a hand in front of his mouth and looking at Ike, although everyone clearly heard what he just said.

"Hey, be nice," said Lucina. "At least he's being honest."

"Yeah, Falcon," chimed Robin. "Be nice to me."

"Pfft, you kidding?" replied Falcon. "I'm one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet! Why, I can't even count on one hand how many times I've done something nice for someone!" He then proceeded to count on his fingers how many times he could recall helping someone out. He stood there muttering things to himself for several seconds, while the others Smashers in the living room just stared at him unimpressed.

"This going to be a long night…" mumbled Ike.

"Hey guys!" called Shulk's voice. "We late for the party?"

The group glanced at the room's entrance to see Shulk walk in, along with Marth and Samus in tow. As always in casual setting, Samus was dressed in her Zero Suit, but seeing her along with Marth show up was honestly something that Falcon didn't expect.

"Holy moly, we got a full house tonight!" exclaimed the F-Zero racer. "This is awesome!"

"Oh Marth," said Lucina suddenly. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about," replied Marth. "Ike told me about it earlier and I'll admit… the way he described it had me curious."

"Curious?" spat Falcon. "What, you think this is some kind of secret underground meeting? We come here and watch movies; it's as simple as that."

"Pikachu…" replied Pikachu in protest.

"Okay, well sure, I may have fallen asleep last time, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the movie!"

"Oh yeah…" muttered Ike. "The movie."

That movie. That cursed movie that gave Lucina and her friends the week from Hell that nobody asked for. It was amazing how even after everything they've been through, Falcon still had the urge to continue with his weekly movie nights. He had told both Lucina and Ike that he had something special planned for this evening however, and he promised that what he showcased wouldn't simply be a repeat of last week's events.

"'A Nightmare on Elm Street,' was it?" asked Samus as she took a seat next to Robin.

"We try not to talk about it anymore," replied Ike.

"I see," said Marth. "Well, I'd be interested in seeing what Captain Falcon has cooked up for tonight's movie." He pulled up a small seat next to Ike, while Shulk took the liberty of sitting down on the floor behind the coffee table with Robin and Samus.

"You bet I do!" exclaimed Falcon. "Trust me on this guys; I guarantee that everyone here will have a good time tonight. After all, the tourney's going to be starting up soon! That gives us all the more reason to celebrate!"

"No Horror movies though," said Ike flatly. "Please."

"Yes, please," responded Lucina. "I'm not sure if I can handle another one of those."

"I got you kids covered, don't worry," replied Falcon. "You just sit tight and hold on while I grab us some quick snacks!"

The racer dashed out of the room faster than an F-Zero machine on the streets of Mute City. While waiting, the Smashers began discussing what movie Falcon could possibly have on his mind this time. Robin had suggested allowing him to pick the movie, but Falcon didn't want to take any more chances. Even when Ike had suggested a documentary, or when Lucina recommended something animated, Falcon declined their offers for he had an idea that was sure to not backfire this time around.

Eventually, Falcon returned with two armfuls of bagged popcorn, as well as some chocolate, candy, and a plate of beverages balanced on his head. He even took the time to prepare a couple of teacups for Marth and anyone else preferring something a bit hotter, and he delivered it with the grace and dexterity of a waiter in an esteemed coffee house.

As expected, the remote was wedged somewhere in the couch, and he ended up having to reach his arm into the crevices of the cushions before pulling out the commanding electronic device. He ran back to kill the lights, but a small lamp on a nearby table was more than enough to reveal which buttons did what on the remote control. With everyone holding onto their snacks and Falcon finally sitting his butt down between Lucina and Ike, Robin felt the need to ask again.

"So, you mind telling us what the movie is?" he asked seriously.

"I will in a second!" replied Falcon. "It's just that…" He paused. "It's just that I've never had so many people at my movie nights before!"

"It's no wonder," replied Ike. "You used to only invite Lucina to these things."

"Um… Really?" said Robin.

"You've made quite the reputation for yourself, Falcon," said Marth warmly. "If these nights turn out to be a success, you might have to start charging people."

"Well, I don't think it'll get to _that_ point," replied Falcon. "What I mean to say is, it's great to see so many friendly faces tonight! I… I kind of want to take a picture to commemorate the occasion."

Robin sighed. "I don't think that's a good i-"

KER-SNAP!

Robin's eyes shot open, his head a daze at all the colorful lights dancing around his head. Falcon held up his digital camera, everyone around him cramming together to try and get a glimpse at the group selfie he just took.

"My hair is lopsided," commented Marth.

"I wasn't even paying attention," said Ike.

"You could have at least waited for me to smile," muttered Samus, noticing her blank expression in the picture.

"What the heck am I looking at?" asked Shulk. "Haha!"

It seemed that the only people who were looking at the lens when the picture was taken were Falcon, Lucina, and Pikachu. Actually, scratch that last one; Pikachu had his head buried deep somewhere in his bag of popcorn.

"Pi-Pika! Pikachu!" retorted the Pokémon, his mouth covered in ketchup and making him look like some kind of vampire.

"I don't know, I think it turned out alright," said Lucina. "Robin, what do you think?"

Robin shook himself out of his dizziness, glancing up at the amateur photography skills of Captain Falcon. He noticed that half of his face had been cut off, revealing only one and a half of his eyes, as well as part of his nose in the picture.

"Why am I not surprised…" he muttered to himself.

"You guys are awesome, you know that?" said Falcon. "Anyways, let's get this show on the road already!" He pocketed the camera and pulled out the remote control.

"So, what's our movie tonight?" asked Lucina.

Falcon paused dramatically, glancing at Lucina from the corner of his eye and smirking that same smirk he gave to everyone.

"To be honest, I have no idea!" he exclaimed. "I figured that since last week's movie didn't turn out so good we could just watch whatever's on TV. Everyone cool with that?"

"That's… actually a pretty good idea," replied Ike.

"I'm good with that," said Marth.

Everyone was pretty much in agreement, and they admired how much thought Falcon had put into this. It wasn't much, but hey, at least he was trying to make up for what happened in the last movie night. The group doubted that they would find a program airing "A Nightmare on Elm Street" of all movies this time around.

"Alright then gang!" said Falcon. "Let's do this!"

He turned on the power, the artificial light from the screen overtaking the darkness of the room and painting the faces of the Smashers in cryptic black and red colors. Following this, the group was met with a blasting and utterly scary tune coming from the TV, while the title screen for "Friday the 13th" began flashing in its classic Horror fashion. Needless to say that the sight was captivating, but it didn't sit well with any of the Smashers in the living room.

The next thing anyone knew, the screen had turned off, and the room fell eerily quiet. Everyone turned to Falcon to see him staring straight ahead with his thumb on top of the power button of the remote.

"Eheh," he muttered. "On second thought, let's forget the movie tonight. Parcheesi anyone?"


	35. One Month Later

It Came from Lucina's Head

* * *

Chapter 35: One Month Later

* * *

"Ness! Pass it up here!"

"Okay!"

Ness punted the Soccer Ball past Kirby, between Luigi's legs, over Lucas' head, and into Toon Link's possession. His team was able to carry the ball several yards up the field, where Toon then reeled back for a powerful kick.

"Not so fast!" came a bypassing Captain Falcon. "Falcon KICK!"

The F-Zero racer slid past Toon Link in a fiery blaze, singeing the freshly cut grass beneath his feet and taking the Soccer Ball along with him.

"Darnit!" cried Toon.

"Ha ha!" cheered Falcon, juking around the opposing team's defense. "Too fast for you!"

"More like too slow!" shouted Sonic, whizzing by Falcon and stealing the ball in an instant. "You gotta be faster than that if you wanna keep up with me!"

"Why you little-"

Falcon was cut off by the sound of Ike's whistle, who was currently refereeing the crazy soccer game.

"Falcon, you're off side," he said. "Get on him."

"What does it look like I'm doing!?" shouted Falcon, kicking up dirt and sprinting after the blue hedgehog.

He ended up colliding with Donkey Kong and tripping over his own feet, earning some laughs from the Mii spectators watching from the bleachers.

"You know, I almost feel sorry for him," said Samus, who was sitting at the bottom row of the bleachers next to Lucina and Mario. "Sonic is so fast he makes these sports kind of unfair."

"It's weird to me," replied Mario. "When we ran the Olympic games with Sonic and his friends back in 2007, anyone could beat him at the 100 meter dash. He wasn't nearly as cocky as he is now."

It was a warm summer weekend; the perfect day for a nice relaxing game of soccer. All of the Smashers had gathered outside of the mansion to enjoy the sunshine, but more importantly, to host the annual Super Smash Bros. open house. Various tables, booths, and other activities had been set up on the grounds as Master Hand requested roughly a week ago. The Smashers were expecting a few more newcomers to join the ranks this year, but no one knew any of the specific details. Most of them were happy seeing their friends again, and it was also a nice break from the tournament (even though they would be back to beating the crap out of each other come Monday).

"Come on Captain Falcon, use that head!" cheered Lucina, cupping her hands around her mouth into a makeshift megaphone.

"My head?" said Falcon aloud as he stampeded at Sonic, who was winding up for a power shot. "Oh I got it!" He charged with all his might, lowering his head and slamming Sonic in the back with the top of his helmet. Sonic immediately fell to the ground, losing control of the ball to Pac-Man.

Ike blew his whistle. "That's a foul."

"What?! Gimme a break here, Sonic's too damn fast!"

"You're just too slow," snickered Sonic, curling up into a ball on the ground. "Ow! My foot! My ankle! My whole leg! It hurts!" He grabbed his limb and began rolling around.

"I didn't even touch your leg!" retorted Falcon.

"Come on ref, he's bluffing!" said Pit in Falcon's defense.

"Sonic still got hit so it's a free kick," replied Ike calmly, holding the ball up in his hand.

"I should get two free kicks!" said Sonic. "Or three, or four! The pain is excruciating!"

"You can't seriously be buying all this…" muttered Falcon.

Lucina sighed.

"I didn't mean for him to use his head like that…" she said.

Samus and Mario laughed while they watched Sonic jump to his feet and get in position for his free kick. Apparently his leg was completely fine.

"Man, this game sucks," mumbled Dark Pit from somewhere higher in the bleachers. "Every two minutes someone gets on the ground and grabs their leg like it's falling off. The ball barely gets from one end of the field to the other without Ike calling foul."

"Jeez, why do you always have to be such a pessimist?" said a young girl sitting next to him, her long pale-blonde hair blowing elegantly in the breeze.

"Make this entertaining," replied Dark Pit nonchalantly. "You're the Goddess of Nature; can't you just spawn a giant plant monster in the field or something?"

"As much as I'd like to," said the girl, "I'm afraid I can't do that. Master Hand might kick me out."

"Pfft. It's not like he's paying attention or anything."

The group looked further down the lawn to see Master Hand scolding Crazy Hand next to what appeared to be a giant inflatable slide. The slide was very colorful and stood almost as high as the mansion itself! King Dedede, Diddy Kong, and some Waddle Dees were in the midst of sliding down, jumping off, and running back around for another ride.

"I told you a million times already!" shouted Master Hand. "We don't need a giant slide!"

"You said we needed more attractions for guests!" replied Crazy Hand. "You didn't give me any instructions so this is what I came up with."

"The guests aren't even using the slide!" Master Hand turned to the giant ride as Dedede came to a stop at the bottom. "Dedede, get off of that! You're still being punished for what happened last month!"

"It ain't my fault!" he whined. "Wario ate my garbage disposal thingy…"

"Then find another one," replied Master Hand seriously. "Your job is to pick up the trash that anyone drops. And I better not see you dumping any of your tasks on the Waddle Dees. Now get back to work!"

"Grr…" Dedede glanced over at the bleachers, where a young black-haired witch in a red dress was sitting by herself away from the other people. She noticed Dedede look at her, and promptly tossed her ice cream cone on the ground with a sneer. He sighed. "Fine…"

"I really don't see why you're complaining," said Crazy Hand, getting back to their original discussion. "You asked for something fun that wouldn't go unnoticed. This slide fits the bill perfectly if you ask me!"

"Not when it's costing us so much money!" replied Master Hand.

The two hands continued bickering, while Shulk and a few of his friends from Bionis were busy chatting and munching on some appetizers at a nearby table.

"So that one on the right is Master Hand," explained Shulk. "And the one on the left is Crazy Hand. I think they're brothers… No, they certainly are brothers."

"Intriguing," replied a taller man with straggly black hair. "I wonder how they can speak so clearly without the need for a mouth or face. What do you think Fiora?"

A young lady with light brown hair next to Shulk almost dropped her fork as she attempted to swallow the 2D spinach puff she had put into her mouth.

"Oh sorry," said the man. "I didn't realize you were eating."

"It's okay, Dunban," replied Fiora. "Um, I'm not sure. They must be using some kind of telepathy to speak."

"Hey Shulk," said a bulky man at the table. "You think I could beat that hand in an arm wrestle?"

"I wouldn't chance it," replied Shulk. "Those two are stronger than they look."

"Riki want to wrestle too!" chimed a furry animal next to the man. "Riki can beat finger-beast any day!"

"Shush Riki," chuckled Fiora. "They'll hear you."

In the midst of the discussion, Wario waltzed up to the table with a pointy stick in his hand and a small garbage bin. He was dressed in his usual yellow attire, but the "W" on his hat had been replaced with the Smash Ball symbol.

"I hope you're enjoying your time here at the mansion," he said in the most drawn out and unimpressed tone imaginable.

Everyone at the table exchanged glances before their gazes inevitably fell to Shulk.

"Friend of yours?" asked Dunban.

"Oh, uh, yes," replied Shulk. "This is Wario. He's another fighter in the Super Smash Brothers."

"That's Mr. Wario to you chumps," he replied, sticking his chin up high. "I'm one of the strongest and most well-respected Smashers in the mansion." He grimaced. "So don't get in my way."

"Hey garbage boy," came Falco's bypassing voice from behind. The bird man tossed a half-eaten corndog at Wario, which bounced off his head and landed in the garbage bin.

Wario gritted his teeth in annoyance, the members at Shulk's table sitting there and awkwardly staring.

"Um, right…" said Dunban. "Well Mr. Wario, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"Yeah, whatever." Wario grabbed some of the finished paper cups and plates on the table and hobbled off to another area of the grounds, mumbling some colorful words under his breath.

"He takes some getting used to," said Shulk, rubbing the back of his head.

Wario made his way around the mansion, mainly sticking to some of the booths the Smashers had set up to entertain and inform guests. He really only did this just to see if there was any free food he could get his hands on, but more often than not he came across something two-dimensional, which was pretty sad since Game and Watch was the one organizing the food at this event.

He eventually, came across Princess Peach and Palutena, who were hosting the Homerun Contest event in the open field.

"Oh, hello Wario!" greeted Peach, who was setting up another Sandbag since Little Mac had beaten the previous one into oblivion. "What brings you here?"

"Take a guess," he muttered, picking up a wrapper with his stick and shoving it into his garbage bin. "Master Hand put me and the other bad guys on garbage duty all because of that stupid thing with Lucina last month." He frowned. "And you know what the worst part about it is? That little brat Ashley is sitting by the bleachers and watching the soccer game!"

"Who's Ashley?" asked Palutena, patting the Sandbag down and picking up a Homerun Bat. "Next!" A young monkey with absurdly long arms and a funny face (presumably a member of the "DK Crew") stepped up to the plate and received the bat from Palutena. He then began examining the Item curiously.

"You know, Ashley!" replied Wario. "She's the one who made all that Dream Tap! So how come she's not getting punished for it?"

"Well for one thing, she's not a member of the Smash Bros.," said Peach matter-of-factly. "And secondly, it's your fault that the Dream Tap got out of hand. You started it when you gave Falcon that dose during Lucina's party remember?"

Wario stomped his foot on the ground in annoyance.

"I was just doing him a favor!" he replied. "See, this is the reason why I don't do nice things for people. I always get the short end of the stick!"

"As long as you learned your lesson, that's all that matters," said Palutena before turning her attention to the monkey. "Alright, Lanky Kong was it? Let me explain the rules: You have 10 seconds to beat up the Sandbag, and then right before the timer runs out, I want you to nail this thing with everything you've got! I recommend using the bat since it really helps. Any questions?"

Lanky shook his head, stretching his long arms around his body in anticipation.

"Okay, then let's get to it!"

Palutena, Peach, and Wario all took a step back from the plate, giving Lanky some room. The timer began counting down and the little monkey went completely bananas, whacking and socking the poor Sandbag like there was no tomorrow. He finished off with a crazy windup, wrapping his arms numerous times around his body before performing a ridiculous spin attack, slamming the Sandbag with the bat so hard that it travelled at least 3000 feet.

There may not have been any style or grace in the hit, but it certainly was powerful.

"Good job!" said Palutena as she and Peach both clapped their hands. "You got over 3000 feet, so here's your prize!" She handed Lanky a trophy of Donkey Kong, which the young monkey accepted graciously before running off to show his friends.

"Pfft, that's nothing," commented Wario. "I could break 4000 with a Wario Waft."

"Why don't you show us then?" asked Peach. "Oh wait, you can't because you're on garbage duty." She stuck her tongue out with a playful wink. Wario just rolled his eyes.

"By the way Wario, is Ganondorf around?" asked Palutena. "I haven't seen him all day, but I thought he was supposed to be helping you?"

"Nah, you kidding?" replied Wario. "Ganondorf wouldn't be caught dead picking up people's trash. He's shut himself away in his room. Probably sulking or something, I don't know."

"That makes sense," said Peach. "Could you imagine Ganondorf picking up garbage? I'd have to get a picture of that…"

Palutena set up another Sandbag as another contestant stepped up to the plate. This time it was a Smasher, and a very familiar one at that.

"Oh hi R.O.B.!" said Palutena warmly, giving a smile to the robotic character. "Wanna try some Homerun Contest?"

R.O.B. narrowed his eyes at her, pausing momentarily before putting his arms up into the air cheerfully.

"Absolutely!" he replied. "I haven't played Homerun Contest in forever!"

Wario was taken aback by his outgoing response.

"Well, aren't you enthusiastic…" he muttered.

"Okay, here you go!" said Palutena, handing R.O.B. the bat. "I think you already know the rules?"

"I'm good!"

Soon enough, the timer began counting and R.O.B. went to town on the Sandbag. He threw out punches and flaming thruster attacks, finally finishing the job with a bat swing and sending the Sandbag on a journey 4000 feet across the field.

"Hey, nice job!" said Peach. "You're a natural!"

"I admit, I'm a little rusty," replied R.O.B., rubbing the back of his head. "Get it? Rusty?"

They broke out into a fit of laughter at his joke, but Wario couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by the robot's optimistic attitude.

R.O.B. was never really the same after he got rebuilt. He looked exactly like he always did (save for the paint job, now sporting a sleek silver finish as opposed to the cream and red) in the sense that every piece of him was intact. He had a head with two perfectly round eyes, robotic claw-like arms, and even thrusters on his lower portion that gave him hovering abilities. Even his voice was the same! The one thing that they weren't able to salvage from the wreckage however, was his artificial intelligence, which meant that he had to be reprogrammed from scratch. What this resulted in turned out to be a new and improved version of R.O.B., one that wasn't so serious all the time, but still maintained that loyal charm he always had.

To Wario, that just meant they had another goody-two-shoes hero in the mansion.

"Man, I miss the old R.O.B.," said Wario. "He wasn't so happy all the time."

"Am I not as nice as the old R.O.B.?" asked R.O.B. anxiously.

"You're fine, R.O.B.," replied Palutena. "Don't listen to Wario. I'm just glad you came out to play since the old R.O.B. would have probably spent the whole day inside doing work."

"Yeah!" chimed Peach. "Now we can catch up on all the times we missed!"

"Hurray!"

R.O.B. put his arms up in cheer, but Wario still didn't look very impressed. He eventually moseyed off on his own again since Master Hand wouldn't be too pleased with him if he found out he was lollygagging. He resumed his duties of picking up garbage, bypassing the Pokémon and some other Smashers as he made his way back over to the soccer game.

Charizard was giving free tours around the mansion grounds being the giant Flying Pokémon that he was. His tours were open to everyone, but most of the Smashers who joined in usually just wanted to experience the thrill of flying. Smaller characters like Pikachu and Villager could ride doubles, but they made sure to prioritize giving rides to the open house guests.

There were other booths spread throughout the grounds to provide information and entertainment to guests. Besides the Homerun Contest and buffet table, Lucario and Mewtwo had both set up a meditation stand, inviting newcomers to relax and concentrate. It was an exercise for the mind, and even though it looked kind of dumb at first, Miis began flocking to it when they saw Mewtwo lifting things up with his psychic powers.

Next to this attraction sat Wii Fit Trainer's yoga sessions, where she played calming music and invited guests to experience the magic of yoga. Olimar and some of his Pikmin had joined in on this occasion, which was pretty funny to watch. Who knew that White Pikmin could even bend like that?

A bit further down, the Koopalings had set up a dunk tank where they took turns taking a spot in the hot seat. Guests could come up and try to dunk one of them in the pool if they threw the ball at the target. There was a small fee of one Smash Coin per throw, but they were ordered to charge guests because of Bowser, who was picking up some garbage nearby. He figured if Master Hand was going to punish him, he might as well have gotten something out of it.

There were plenty of other booths and attractions nearby to entertain people like Greninja's Water Shuriken Toss, Rosalina's Story Time, Jigglypuff's Karaoke, Marth's Sword Training, and Meta Knight's Revenge (one versus one swordplay with no holds barred). Despite how successful the open house was turning out, Master Hand honestly wasn't expecting a lot of newcomers to be joining the ranks. If anything, the open house was more or less a way for the Smashers to relax and reunite with family and friends that they hadn't been able to see for a while because of the tournament.

One thing he did mention to the Smashers before the event however, was that he was going to recruit some new characters known as Mii Fighters. The Miis (which made up about 75% of the guests attending the open house) were skilled warriors, possessing the ability to specialize in different types of weaponry such as swords, guns, or simply unarmed combat. They came in all shapes and sizes, and they certainly were an enthusiastic bunch. A large group of Miis in the bleachers were cheering on the soccer game that was still currently underway.

"Megaman, heads up!" called Falcon, booting the ball up the field.

Megaman received the pass, ducking underneath Yoshi who tried to intercept him.

"I'm going for it!" he said, unleashing a powerful kick and sending the ball surging to the opposing goal.

Goalkeeper Fox dove for the shot, but Megaman had put a little spin on the kick, causing the ball to curve away from Fox and hit the goalpost. Ike blew his whistle as it ricocheted into the net, earning a series of cheers from Megaman's team, as well as the spectators.

"Nice shot," said Samus, who was still seated at the front row with Lucina and Mario. "Megaman's a lot faster than he looks."

"At least their team is working together," replied Mario. "Captain Falcon is notorious for being a ball-hog."

"Yeah, I noticed he's not doing that at all this game."

"He learned his lesson, I'm sure," said Lucina. She noticed another Smasher approaching them from the corner of her eye, but of course she had to turn her whole head when she recognized who it was.

"Good afternoon everyone," greeted Robin, walking up to the three Smashers in the bleachers. The soccer game resumed as the other spectators began cheering again. "Enjoying the open house?"

"Oh yes, definitely," replied Lucina with a smile. "This game is really getting intense."

"Why don't you pull up a seat, Robin?" asked Samus, patting the spot next to her.

"It's okay," he said. "I just came over here to tell Lucina someone was looking for her."

"Really?" replied Lucina, somewhat surprised. "Who? Um, if you don't mind my asking?"

He smirked. "Come with me and I'll show you."

Robin walked off, beckoning for Lucina to follow him. She promptly got up and scurried to his side while Mario and Samus returned to their game. Robin had actually been sitting with them earlier to watch the excitement, but found himself wandering off to grab a drink. He meant to get one for Lucina as well, but he was stopped when someone had approached him and asked for her.

"Who is it?" asked Lucina again, confused as to why Robin didn't tell her upfront. "Is it someone I know?"

"Oh, you know him alright," he replied casually. "I was surprised he even showed up today."

They continued walking past the various booths and attractions, making their way to where the tables and umbrellas had been set up. There were some characters from different realms seated and talking amongst themselves, including Shulk and his friends who gave them a wave as they passed. Lucina soon noticed the table that Robin was talking about, recognizing a blue-haired man sitting across from a young woman in a gown similar to that of Robin's.

She ran to him.

"Father!"

The man stood up before she jumped into his arms, the two embracing each other beneath the shade of the table's umbrella. Robin came up from behind as well, unable to hide the grin on his face after witnessing Lucina's reaction to seeing Chrom again.

"Hey there Lucina," said Chrom, noticing that Lucina was hugging him a little too tight. "How have you been?"

She pulled away from him staring at his face, thankful that he hadn't changed one bit since they last met.

"I've been good," she replied with a smile. "How about you? And Mother?"

"We've been getting along," he said with a smirk. "She actually let me sleep inside the castle last night." The two shared a laugh, followed by Chrom putting an arm around her. "Gods, you look so mature now. How long has it been?"

"Almost a year." She glanced at Robin who shrugged his shoulders. "I've been training really hard though. Master Hand has barely given us a day to rest since the tournament was taken off suspension."

"Ah yes, I heard about that." Chrom had a bit of a curious look in his eyes. "Come, sit down with us and we can talk. I'll get some extra beverages over here on the double." Robin and Lucina both took their seats at the table while Chrom glanced around for any sign of a servant. Unfortunately, most of the Waddle Dees were still giving Master Hand a hard time with the giant slide, so the only thing that really stood out to him was the plump man picking up garbage nearby. "Excuse me, sir? Would you be so kind as to bring us some punch?"

Wario turned around with a grimace on his face, realizing that as long as he was under Master Hand's rule, he had no choice but to be polite to the guests. He immediately put on an overly happy and fake smile.

"Oh yes, absolutely your majesty!" replied Wario. "I would be more than happy to get you and your friends some punch! After all, it is what I'm paid to do! I'm getting paid a lot of money for this job, but the money doesn't mean anything to me! I'm just happy to serve _you_!"

With that, Wario stormed off in the direction of the punch bowl, while Lucina and Robin just exchanged an awkward glance. Chrom chuckled.

"What a nice fellow," he commented. "I'll be sure to leave him a tip when he gets back."

"Err, I'd recommend against it," replied Robin. "He's actually a Smasher and he's not getting paid to do that. He owes Master Hand some community service hours for something that happened a while ago."

Much to Lucina's dismay, the "something" that Robin was talking about just so happened to be the same "something" that was giving her problems for an entire week. She couldn't wait to talk about _that_ with her father.

"Alright then," said Chrom. "Anyway, first thing's first: Allow me to introduce you two to the Super Smash Brothers' newest member." He gestured to the woman sitting next to him, who gave Robin and Lucina a wave as well as a "Hi."

Both Robin and Lucina were curious about this woman's identity the moment they noticed her at the table. What came off as surprising was the fact that she was dressed in the exact same robe as Robin, which was odd because his gown was unique among Ylissean tacticians. From the colors, to the buttons, to the very fabric in which it was woven, this robe appeared to be an exact match. Not only that, but her hair was also the same pale color as Robin's, although it looked to be much finer than his and certainly much longer. Even though it was done up in the back, it still draped over her shoulders. If Robin didn't know any better, he would have thought that he was staring into Pandora's Mirror of Truth, the same mirror that spawned Dark Pit from Pit's own reflection.

"This is Robyn," said Chrom, "with a 'Y.' She comes from the same realm as us in Ylisse."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Robyn with a smile.

"Um, you too," replied Lucina, although Robin was still dumbstruck. He just kept staring at the girl, analyzing the uncanny similarities in her face.

"Allow me to explain," said Chrom, noticing that Robin's brain was on the verge of a meltdown. "Robyn comes from a timeline that mirrors our own. You will notice that besides her gender, she is an exact match to Robin, even possessing the same fingerprints and blood type. In some ways you are one in the same person, but in other ways you are not. For example, I can tell just by speaking with her that her personality is nothing like yours, Robin."

"Thanks, Chrom," replied Robyn sarcastically.

"But… This isn't possible," said Robin, still trying to wrap his head around this. "How can there be two of me?"

"The same reason why we take orders from a giant disembodied hand," came a voice from behind. The group turned around to see Captain Falcon standing there with a tray of drinks in his hand. "Oh, sorry. Wario gave these to me and told me to deliver them to you guys." He set the drinks down on the table, the skin on his neck shining with sweat from the soccer game he just stepped away from.

"Thank you, Captain Falcon," said Lucina, receiving a glass of punch from the racer. "Oh, by the way Father, this is Captain Falcon, another member of the Smash Brothers. Captain Falcon, meet my father Chrom, and Ms. Robyn."

"Hey, I recognize you," muttered Falcon as he put a hand to his chin. "I saw you in one of Lucina's dreams!"

Chrom gave Lucina a questionable look, but she simply dismissed Falcon's comment.

"It's a long story," she said.

"Ah, it's quite alright," replied Chrom. "After all, I also recognize this Captain Falcon." He gave the F-Zero racer a glance. "He's one of the more iconic Smash Bros. members if I recall correctly."

Lucina suddenly remembered the conversation she had with Robin a while ago. She could recall him telling her something about how Chrom had a pretty negative opinion on Captain Falcon seeing as how he wasn't the brightest guy and always found himself jumping from one girl to the next. It was probably part of the reason why he wanted Robin to keep her away from Falcon, but she knew that this was really just a misunderstanding. Captain Falcon wasn't a bad guy at all! A little headstrong sure, but he definitely wasn't bad.

"At your service, Dad!" said Falcon. "I mean, Chrom!" He stuck out a hand and gave Chrom a firm handshake. "If you need anything, just holler my name and I'll come runnin'." He immediately turned his attention towards Chrom's female companion. "And for the lovely lady: To what do I owe the pleasure?" He took up Robyn's hand in his own, earning a small giggle from her.

"Well you're quite the charmer," she replied warmly.

"Wait just a minute here," interjected Robin. "If she's me then how come we don't look anything alike?"

"Well for starters, she's a woman," replied Chrom nonchalantly. "Like I said, you both come from separate timelines. It's just like how Lucina comes from a timeline in which Ylisstol had fallen to Grima. You are your own person, yet you both share very similar characteristics physically."

"Ew, I hope not…" muttered Falcon, imagining the possibility of what could be under Robyn's robe at the thought of her being _too_ similar to Robin. "Hey hold on! We already defeated Grima in the nightmares! So how could Lucina come from a different timeline?"

Chrom glanced at Lucina yet again, forcing her to dismiss Falcon's comment yet again. She wasn't prepared to talk about the nightmare stuff right now, and she kind of hated how she forgot to tell Falcon more about her dark background in the past. He was pretty much oblivious to all that grim stuff, but she never really felt the need to tell him about it anyway.

"Just ignore him," she said before waving a hand and taking a sip of her drink.

"You said that she would be joining the Smash Bros. this month?" asked Robin.

"You can ask her yourself," replied Chrom, gesturing to Robyn. "Come on, don't be shy."

Robin was still nervous, mainly because he wasn't quite sure of the consequences of interacting with someone who was exactly the same as him. Didn't this break hundreds of laws of physics and biology?

"Um, right sorry," said Robin. "Robyn?"

"I'll be joining the Smash Bros. this month, yes," she replied. "I'm prepared to offer everything I can to ensure the betterment of the company."

"Well, I'm sold," said Falcon casually. "Hey Robyn, how's about you and me go for a little stroll around the mansion? I'll give you the grand tour."

"Really?" she asked eagerly. "That would be so generous of you."

"Of course!" replied Falcon. "You're going to be staying with us after all, so you might as well get acquainted with the place. I'll introduce you to the others; I'm sure they'd love to meet you!"

"Certainly!" Robyn immediately stood up, not even bothering to finish her beverage. "Oh, I mean, unless there's anything you'd like to discuss here."

Chrom glanced at Robin who shook his head.

"I'm alright for now," said Robin. "But I would like to talk to you later if that's okay."

"Give him time," commented Chrom with a laugh. "He'll get used to you soon enough. Run along you two and have fun."

"Awesome!" said Robyn. "Come on, let's go!"

"Alright!" cheered Falcon. "Adios amigos!"

The two ran off, Falcon grabbing her hand and leading her back to the hectic soccer game. Lucina watched them go, giving a smile when she noticed Falcon look back at her with a wink.

"He seems different than I remember," said Chrom all of a sudden.

"I beg your pardon, Father?" asked Lucina, turning back to the table.

"Captain Falcon. From the way the Smashers described him, I always thought he would be a little younger. He's got to be at least five years older than me though."

"He makes quite a name for himself around here, that's for sure," replied Robin casually. "You should see how he acts when he's _not_ trying to make a good first impression."

Robin flinched when he felt Lucina smack his leg from under the table.

"Anyway, Father," said Lucina. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Same here, Lucina," said Chrom. "I still can't believe how much you've grown. I can really see your mother in your eyes."

Lucina smiled warmly, but Robin was looking a little awkward sitting between the two. He wasn't sure if Lucina was going to mention anything to Chrom about them dating. Only a handful of Smashers were even aware of the thought, so he was debating whether or not telling Chrom would be the smart thing to do.

Well, what Chrom didn't know couldn't hurt him right?

"So how are you two fairing in the tournament now?" asked Chrom.

"We're doing alright," replied Lucina. "I've won about 78% of my matches as of last week."

"I'm a little less than that," said Robin. "There are some Smashers that I just have no hope of beating, like Diddy Kong and Sheik. Speaking of which, I haven't seen Sheik all day…"

He said that last sentence under his breath, but Lucina did hear him. As a matter of fact, Sheik wasn't anywhere on the mansion grounds, but Zelda certainly was as she was helping to organize Charizard's flying tours. Neither Robin nor Lucina were aware that Sheik was merely Zelda's alter ego who never showed her true face during social events. For all they knew, Sheik was just another competitor in the tournament.

"I'm glad they're keeping you on your toes," said Chrom. "All that training sure looks like it's paying off."

"It definitely is," replied Lucina. "The techniques you taught me have brought me far. Oh! That reminds me. I have to introduce you to the Hero-King Marth later on. He's another competitor that I have yet to defeat."

"Meeting him would be a great honor," said Chrom. "It would be very humbling to see him in person."

Robin couldn't help but laugh internally at Chrom's comment. Marth was probably one of the most down-to-earth Smashers in the mansion, and didn't have a big head despite his title.

"He's currently hosting a sword training booth somewhere around here," said Robin. "We can go now if you like."

"It's fine," replied Chrom. "I'm just happy being able to speak with you two again."

Robin recalled the specific orders Chrom had given him before the original tournament had gone underway. He was supposed to look out for Lucina, and look out for her he did. Of course, this was during a time when they didn't know any of the Smashers, however, most of them were great friends now. He wondered if Chrom was still expecting him to uphold his duty, since there was no way he was going to discuss this with Lucina present.

Another thing that was bothering him was whether or not Lucina was going to talk to him about the nightmares.

It happened a while ago, but nobody could forget the incident. They could all laugh about it now; that doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Lucina had no reason not to tell Chrom either since everything turned out great in the end, didn't it? She basically saved the Smashers from certain doom, so surely that was something worth boasting about?

She couldn't forget though, especially not after seeing Chrom again. She still had a vivid memory of him transforming into Grima, stabbing her in the side with his own blade, and attempting to kill her friends. She knew it really wasn't him, but the thought was still haunting her. She knew she had to tell him somehow.

"So there weren't any problems while I was away?" asked Chrom. "You both seem to have adapted quite nicely."

Robin noticed Lucina hold her tongue, at which point he knew she wanted to say something. He went ahead of her instead seeing as how she was feeling uncertain.

"Nope, no problems at all," replied Robin. "Besides the tournament, things have actually been kind of uneventful around here."

"You don't say…"

"Well, there were _some_ things going on, but it's really not worth getting into. We got a returning veteran late in the season this year, which is something that doesn't normally happen."

"Oh, that would be Mewtwo, correct?"

"Yeah, Mewtwo. He didn't travel very far from here though." Robin crossed his arms. "As a matter of fact, we found him in the hidden facility beneath the mansion."

"What was he doing down there?"

"Oh, you know, just… Sleeping."

Robin didn't really know why Mewtwo was down there, but that was how he understood it. He didn't want to go into too many details however seeing as how he didn't feel like explaining to Chrom what _they_ were doing in the facility.

Lucina stared at the contents of her punch glass uneasily.

"Lucina, are you alright?" asked Chrom.

Lucina looked up at him, still kind of lost in thought at what she wanted to do. She glanced at Robin who gave her the same worried look, which made Chrom curious as to what was going on here.

"Father…" she said. "There's… something I have to tell you."

And so, she told him everything, from the very first night when she encountered her first demon, to the final night that ended with a Final Destination battle against Master Core. She made mentions about her friends such as Robin, Captain Falcon, Ike, and some others who had all helped her to get through her troubling times. She also told Chrom about Grima, and how she had visions from the past. Lastly, she made sure to mention that she had encountered Chrom in her dreams, albeit an evil and sinister version of himself since it was really Grima in disguise.

As she told her story, Chrom did not remove his gaze from her. He listened to every last word, noticing how much it was hurting her to remember so many tragic events. He knew she had come from a corrupted past, so the fact that these nightmares were affecting her so much only proved how dangerous they were.

"I knew it couldn't be you," she said. "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me." She looked down. "I held strong, fought my way through, and my friends were there by my side every step of the way. It's the same reason why the tournament has only recently been restarted. Master Hand never would have allowed such a thing otherwise."

Chrom clenched his fists on the table, the ice cubes in his untouched glass now dissolved into the drink.

"I…" he responded. "I had no idea this was happening to you."

"It's alright though, Father," she said. "I'm happy for the way things turned out. I feel stronger, braver, and satisfied with the fact that nobody was hurt in the end." She bowed her head. "And I have you to thank for teaching me everything I know in order to prepare me for this tragedy."

Chrom shook his head, while Robin remained deathly silent. He wasn't sure if it was his duty to say something at this point, but figured that if Lucina wanted him to speak, then surely she would have given him a sign.

"You should not thank me," replied Chrom.

Lucina looked up at him, a somewhat surprised look on her face.

"What?" she said.

"I didn't do anything," continued Chrom. "The nightmares, the monsters, Grima… You defeated them all on your own, Lucina. You had your friends there to guide you, but I certainly didn't have any say in it. I would feel bad for taking any kind of credit in this." He bowed his head to her. "This victory is yours and yours alone, Lucina. I am proud of you."

Lucina's lips slowly curled into a smile, small tears beginning to form in her eyes. She didn't expect anything less from Chrom, but she was really relieved to finally get that off her chest. Chrom opened up his arms.

"Come here, you," he said.

Lucina got up and went around, giving him a big hug. Robin couldn't help but smile. He was just happy seeing her happy, and in the long run he was glad that Lucina finally told her dad about the nightmares.

It saved him the trouble of doing it at least.

"Feel better now?" asked Chrom.

"Yes," she replied, wiping her eyes. "Much better."

"Good." He stood up. "Say, why don't we go see the Hero-King now? That'll probably cheer you up."

"Let's do that," replied Lucina. "I'm sure Marth will be pleased to finally meet you."

"Lead the way, Robin."

Robin got up, leaving his drink where it was.

"Okay, right this way," he said. "His training area should be over there somewhere."

He started weaving his way between the tables, gesturing for the other two to follow him. Chrom walked casually for a while before approaching Robin from behind and taking a firm hold of his arm. He ended up pulling Robin a bit further up, leaving Lucina to walk by herself. She tilted her head slightly in confusion, noticing the two talking to each other in whispers.

"Don't get any funny ideas, wise guy," said Chrom quietly, gripping tightly on Robin's arm.

"W-What?" replied Robin, realizing where this conversation was going.

"I saw the way you were looking at her. Lucina isn't going to be dating _anyone_ in this mansion while I'm around, you understand?"

Robin's face immediately began to turn red. "Wait, hang on! I can explain!"

The two men continued arguing up ahead while Lucina tailed them from behind. Despite them trying to be quiet, she could tell what they were talking about, and couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

It seemed that things really were back to the way they were before. The tournament was up and running, Master Hand was barking orders, Wario was being a pain, and Captain Falcon was back to chasing girls. It was almost like her life had never changed. Now the nightmares were nothing more than a memory, or a story that Rosalina would tell the kids before bedtime.

In a way, Lucina was glad about her adventure. She learned a lot about herself and about the residents of Smash Mansion. Fitting in had always been a problem for her at the start of the tournament, yet now, she truly felt like she belonged. They were one big crazy and uncontrollable family. They were the Super Smash Bros. And come what may, no freak of nature or force of evil could ever split them apart.

Lucina scurried after her father and boyfriend, noticing the Duck Hunt Duo sitting by themselves on the grass nearby and holding up a wooden sign. They appeared to be about as unenthusiastic as always, the Dog maintaining that half-opened stare, while the Duck was looking off in some other direction. Her eyes scanned the words on the sign, which were scribbled on messily as if whoever wrote it was in a rush to be somewhere.

"Don't hold your breath."

It was a peculiar choice of words sure, but she seemed to be the only one on the grounds who noticed the sign. Were they trying to say something to her? She ended up stopping on the spot to stare at the sign for some time, not even paying attention to any of the other events or activities going on around her. She felt her spine shiver and her skin tingle as memories from the last month were beginning to rise, but these memories weren't something from the nightmares. No, what she was recalling this time, was something that Samus Aran had said to her the day after she witnessed that Horror movie.

Lucina glanced down at her hand, noticing that it was shaking. She slowly brought it up to her face, praying that her doubts were nothing but overthought lies.

She took a deep breath.

She closed her eyes.

And she squeezed her nose.


End file.
